MailmanDave
17 Years Experience
Long Island, NY
Male, 43
I am a City Letter Carrier for the US Postal Service in NY. I've been a city letter carrier for over 17 years and it is the best job I've ever had. I mostly work 5 days per week (sometimes includes a Saturday) and often have the opportunity for overtime, which is usually voluntary. The route I deliver has about 350 homes and I walk to each of their doors to deliver the mail. Please keep in mind that I don't have authority to speak for the USPS, so all opinions are solely mine, not my employer.
You can give a mailman any package that has the postage paid on it either via a computer printed label (such as Click 'N Ship) or a label where the recipient will pay the return postage. In the latter case, the label will clearly say "No Postage Necessary If Mailed Within The United States". Every letter carrier should accept the package no questions asked. The exception to this would be a city letter carrier who may not have a USPS vehicle which they are operating from and are unable to bring the package back to the Post Office. In that case I believe you can go to www.usps.com to schedule a package pickup. Thanks for writing.
I don't know why the routing would keep going back and forth unless it was considered "undeliverable as addressed". I know that those are likely all sorting facilities for packages near or at airports. I'm sorry that I'd have no further information on the package. Possibly the ZIP code on the package isn't correct so the item keeps getting routed between facilities. I would recommend contacting the shipper and telling them what info you are able to get from the USPS website and see if they have maybe received it back marked invalid address. I'm not sure the shipper will have any information. Since the item originated in Jamaica, NY and is now back in Jamaica, NY, it has possibly been returned to the sender for some reason. Thanks for the inquiry.
In most cases, if the error is that minor and the misspelled street doesnt match another street in the same ZIP , the delivery should still reach you. Misspellings occur all the time with mailed items and letters.
I am not completely sure what is being asked by this question, but here is the general rule that we should follow when delivering mail. Unless there is an official change of address order on file to forward a person's mail from one address to another then the mail should only be delivered to the address which is printed on the envelope as to where the letter should go.
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It depends if it is a curbside mailbox or a mailbox at the door to your house. If it is a curbside mailbox that the letter carrier must access from their postal vehicle then there are specific height rqmts and distance from the curb that the box must be. I don't have these specs here, but I imagine it can be found online by doing a search of "curbside residential mailbox requirements"
I think it is wrong for a letter carrier to make any type of judgment whether or not a piece of mail is important or not. They shouldn't be involving a neighbor since the neighbor may or may not have any type of relationship with the customer and shouldn't be privy to any of the type or content of mail received by you. When a customer puts their mail on hold, I treat all mail the same way no matter if it looks like a check, biill, automobile advertisement, donation request, etc. It is definitely not our job to judge anything about the mail and I would suggest it is very much against the rules even though your carrier meant well. Thanks for writing.
Randy, I dont know the answer to your question. I can see it turning out both ways. On one hand, the carrier may be familiar with you and/or the neighborhood and feel it is safe enough to leave the mail by your door without risk of it being stolen. On the other hand, they may have rules saying that this is forbidden and not be able to verify that you actually wrote the note. you could also call your local PO to find out if they can be of any help, but I'm guessing they will say that you have to get a replacement key and can't risk bringing the mail to your door. I'm being purposefully vague because I have a feeling that there would be different answers from different offices/personnel. I hope you can find your mailbox key.
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