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Question concerning a hold mail request to the USPS.
BLUEJAYWAY
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Thought I would run this past everyone to hear their opinions.
Recently requested and signed for a mail hold. For a reason to not have a large expensive package delivered. Fear of porch pirates off and on which has been a concern in my neighborhood.
The question is: if the PO mistakenly delivers it anyway after the signed request, and it is stolen are they liable?
Has not happened and hopefully won't.
Anyone here ever had such an issue and what was the solution?
Leaving with neighbors not an option.
I plan on retrieving the package at the post office when it arrives and the date to end the hold mail is no longer in effect
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USPS offers a free service called Informed Delivery. If you sign up for it and login daily you can see the status of any packages en route to your address. When the package is in town it should not say out for delivery. Watch for it as it moves through the postal network.
Yes, I am currently dealing with it. The PO claims to have delivered a package to my front step, although everyone has an individual locking mailbox it probably would have fit in, and there are larger, locking boxes for larger parcels at each mailbox area. I am away long days and have requested before they not do this. I say claimed to have delivered, as they often misdeliver mail and occasionally packages to the incorrect individual boxes, so they could have delivered it elsewhere, or someone grabbed it off the step. I have contacted the shipper. And they are investigating.
Mail holds have generally worked well for me with a couple major exceptions.
One holiday season one of the holiday workers treated a hold as a "return to sender".
Another time, and this is especially relevant to you, they held the regular mail, but they delivered a priority mail package containing a passport. I think the delivery drivers for some special items are separate from the people who do the regular mail.
P.S> @JBK said:
This is helpful and good to know. I will inquire as to the distinction of a regular mail hold and a package hold. I just assumed the hold entailed both types of mail. Thank you.
Only one other time did I request a mail hold. For four days for a trip. Filled out the form all for naught. They delivered the mail anyway.
Wow 😳
A friend had a same address as one in the next town, usps delivered his package to there. Never got the package and had to file a claim 🙄 (👎)
The problem is that the tracking for a misdelivered package will show that it has been delivered making it almost impossible to collect insurance for your loss.
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"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Best thing to do is talk to your regular carrier. Building a relationship with him/her is really good.I valued my customers and treated them well. 34 years as a letter carrier in Michigan.
Agreed, it was delivered to the other address and the owner said they never received it. Politics or a prch pirate got it. I see your point as well 🙂
Note: the system sowed it was delivered there, politics
I've had some issues with held mail, but in general USPS works well.
An alternative (which I have done before) is to contact the shipper and have them hold shipment until you are back home.
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When I lived in a suburban area I always did this. I had a great relationship with my carrier Kirk. Now that we live in a rural area with road side mail boxes, not so easy. Also, we get mailed delivered at different times of the day making me think we have different carriers for different days.
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I forward my mail temporarily each summer. They forward first class and packages but dump the junk mail. Similar service, subject to the abilities of your local staff. Never had a problem, but since this is a routine for me, I’m nonetheless able and careful not to have anything important caught “in limbo” after I leave town.
Two things. Sometimes the parcel lockers are all used. Therefore any other parcels will be delivered to the home.
Secondly, the scanners have GPS on them. If you believe a package has been mis-delivered, call the Postmaster or a supervisor and have them check. They will not tell you where it was delivered for obvious reasons, but can send the carrier out to retrieve the package and deliver it correctly.
I couldn't agree more. I was on the same route for 31 years and had a great relationship with most of my customers.
Great advice. My carrier and I are on a first-name basis. Great guy. However, he does take time off so the best advice is to avoid having anything important sent while you’re away, if at all possible. Else, I’ve had friends, neighbors or family check my mail. Occasionally get a rogue package from FedEx or UPS, so having someone local you can count on sure helps cover all the bases.
That would be a good idea. Unfortunately, not everybody has one. Where I live, somebody's delivering the mail but it's never the same person for very long.
GPS scanners won't help you if you live in a newer area with those cluster mailboxes and your mail is put in the wrong box.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
That is true.
Edited to add: Unless it was delivered to a wrong address. Still worth having the GPS location checked.
Not in this case, the lockers are rarely all in use, and when I contacted the postmaster he said there was an issue with the locks and keys and that a key could sometimes access multiple boxes so they don't always use them. It would have been safer in a locked box, even if someone else with a key could access it than sitting out on the step all day. I had also requested that they just hold the parcels for me then, and he said they couldn't do that.
No. Mail holds do not come with liability for the PO. If you want liability, you want Registered Mail.
With a mail hold, you could not only have porch pirates (unlikely), but you could also have theft from the PO where the package is being held. The PO does not offer free insurance, via a mail hold, where it does not otherwise offer insurance.