Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

If you receive a postage paid letter from a non-profit org.,can you then forward the same envelope to someone without any added postage? Or does the pre-paid only cover one recipient,in this case myself?
thank you-

Asked by David B. over 11 years ago

David, if the letter is addressed to you from the non-profit org. and it says "postage paid" in the indicia (the square usually on the upper right hand corner of the letter you are referring to), you may not forward that letter to another recipient. It is postage paid for the letter to get to you and that's it. Any additional mailing of that same envelope would require first-class postage put over the indicia. I would recommend using an entirely new envelope.

644 Votes

Is it possible for mailman to obtain my po box mail from post office on the sly and give to member of my family who wants to know what I am receiving in po box? I am missing mail from po box and I am concerned this might be the case.

Asked by Bella B. over 11 years ago

I would suggest that would be illegal to do. Mail that is addressed to a PO Box should stay in the PO Box until picked up by the boxholder. We have no rights as a letter carrier to go into the PO Box, remove mail, and give it to a member of your family. I'm not saying your carrier isn't doing this, but they would be risking their job to do what you've described. If mail continues to be missing you may want to bring it to the attention of a supervisor or the Postmaster of the office where you receive your PO Box mail

643 Votes

I lost my mailbox key (cluster). I called USPS and they said that if I leave a note for the carrier, he could replace the lock. Is it true or do I have to find a locksmith?

Asked by Nicole about 10 years ago

I don't think you need to hire a locksmith to replace the lock to a cluster mailbox, but to be honest I don't really know the procedure as to who maintains the boxes. It may be the USPS or it could be the complex/apt/condo management. I believe the lock may have to be changed because I don't even know if spare keys are held anywhere. If it is true that a letter carrier can get the lock changed I don't know the length of time that this takes though I imagine it is common for mailbox keys to be lost.

642 Votes

When do I get a new mailman I'm having issues with mine do you guys ever change routes

Asked by Gadgetsystem over 10 years ago

That is a good question which I can basically break down into a simple answer: there is no set time for switching routes for letter carriers. The system for assigning routes comes down to seniority. If a letter carrier likes the route that they have they can stay on it indefinitely for the most part. If the office goes through some route restructuring (like the territory that makes up a route changes) then you may get a new mailman. When carriers retire or leave the PO for any reason, their route goes up for bidding and the most senior letter carrier who would like that route assignment can choose it. At this point your mailman could move to another route if they want to and they have enough seniority. Some letter carriers could stay on their routes for 25+ years if they choose to. If you are having serious issues with your letter carrier, you could mention it to to them if you ever see them or you could call the delivery supervisor at your local PO. I'm sorry you are having issues with your letter carrier. There are many among us who don't do a great job or just have a bad attitude.

642 Votes

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Just a question. I send out postcards every other week on Friday do most postcard going to differents states typically arive on Monday? And does using a 9 digit zip code speed up the process?

Asked by Andrew about 11 years ago

If you mail out the postcards on Friday, they will generally arrive Monday or Tuesday depending on how far away the destination is from you. The USPS has been talking about a change in what is called their EXFC standards so First Class Mail that used to take 1-3 days may now take 2-4 days. I'm not sure if this is in effect or not. With regards to using the 9-digit ZIP code I don't believe it speeds up the process. If your postcards have printed addresses on them, our OCR (Optical Character Reader) probably would have no problem reading the address, spraying a bar code on the envelope and sending it on its way expeditiously. Most addressing software programs now produce an address with a 9-digit ZIP and standardized address. If you look at a lot of the mail you receive, it likely has the 9-digit ZIP code on it. We call it ZIP + 4, but it's the same thing. This codes the destination address down to a pretty small group of addresses within a ZIP code. I believe in some cases PO Boxes each have their own specific ZIP + 4. Thank you for your question.

639 Votes

I have an inteview tommrow i applied for 2 seasonal positions 2 diff counties. Today i recieved another invite to an interview on the 23rd, this same position already sent me drug/backgrnd test info through email with no interview.

Asked by Cindy over 11 years ago

Cindy, I dont know how to help you in this situation as I am not even sure what you are asking. Good luck on both interviews. I do realize you want one of these positions much greater than the other. Unless you get offered the job for the first interview on the spot, I highly recommend attending all interviews that come your way. The reason is that you may get an offer from a later interview than at your preferred location. This is likely better than having no employment.

637 Votes

My mail man left a note in my mail box saying that he would not deliver my mail until i move my car, which is parked on the street a few houses down my house. The note has no reference to an authority...just his note. My mail box is not blocked.

Asked by mayra over 11 years ago

I don't think the mailman should have left you a notice saying that unless you are blocking someone's mailbox down the street. Even if you were blocking another mailbox down the street, I don't believe he has any authority to suspend delivery to your house because of it. We can leave notes in a mailbox though there are some official notes we can leave like "your mailbox needs attention." I don't know if you want to approach your letter carrier directly and explain that your car has nothing to do with blocking your mailbox (which you said isn't blocked, period). If mail delivery doesn't resume I would suggest contacting your delivery post office and speaking with a delivery supervisor about this. From what you've described, this sounds like an irrational situation.

637 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

If you receive a postage paid letter from a non-profit org.,can you then forward the same envelope to someone without any added postage? Or does the pre-paid only cover one recipient,in this case myself?
thank you-

Is it possible for mailman to obtain my po box mail from post office on the sly and give to member of my family who wants to know what I am receiving in po box? I am missing mail from po box and I am concerned this might be the case.

I lost my mailbox key (cluster). I called USPS and they said that if I leave a note for the carrier, he could replace the lock. Is it true or do I have to find a locksmith?

When do I get a new mailman I'm having issues with mine do you guys ever change routes

Also on Jobstr...

Just a question. I send out postcards every other week on Friday do most postcard going to differents states typically arive on Monday? And does using a 9 digit zip code speed up the process?

I have an inteview tommrow i applied for 2 seasonal positions 2 diff counties. Today i recieved another invite to an interview on the 23rd, this same position already sent me drug/backgrnd test info through email with no interview.

My mail man left a note in my mail box saying that he would not deliver my mail until i move my car, which is parked on the street a few houses down my house. The note has no reference to an authority...just his note. My mail box is not blocked.

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

If you receive a postage paid letter from a non-profit org.,can you then forward the same envelope to someone without any added postage? Or does the pre-paid only cover one recipient,in this case myself?thank you-

Is it possible for mailman to obtain my po box mail from post office on the sly and give to member of my family who wants to know what I am receiving in po box? I am missing mail from po box and I am concerned this might be the case.

I lost my mailbox key (cluster). I called USPS and they said that if I leave a note for the carrier, he could replace the lock. Is it true or do I have to find a locksmith?

When do I get a new mailman I'm having issues with mine do you guys ever change routes

Also on Jobstr...

Just a question. I send out postcards every other week on Friday do most postcard going to differents states typically arive on Monday? And does using a 9 digit zip code speed up the process?

I have an inteview tommrow i applied for 2 seasonal positions 2 diff counties. Today i recieved another invite to an interview on the 23rd, this same position already sent me drug/backgrnd test info through email with no interview.

My mail man left a note in my mail box saying that he would not deliver my mail until i move my car, which is parked on the street a few houses down my house. The note has no reference to an authority...just his note. My mail box is not blocked.

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If you receive a postage paid letter from a non-profit org.,can you then forward the same envelope to someone without any added postage? Or does the pre-paid only cover one recipient,in this case myself?
thank you-