Posted on 02/27/2021 1:45:09 AM PST by Libloather
Mark Currie of Virginia had three checks snagged in postal delays in three months. In New Jersey, Lois Fitton says she was forced to pay interest on a credit card balance because the bill never arrived. Jim Rice says two insurance companies canceled policies for his property management business in Oklahoma after the payments got lost in the mail.
As the service crisis at the U.S. Postal Service drags into its eighth month, complaints are reaching a fever pitch. Consumers are inundating members of Congress with stories of late bills — and the late fees they’ve absorbed as a result. Small-business owners are waiting weeks, even months, for checks to arrive, creating cash-flow crunches and debates on whether to switch to costlier private shippers. Large-scale mailers, such as banks and utilities, are urging clients to switch to paperless communication, a shift that would further undercut the agency’s biggest revenue stream.
The growing outcry adds another dimension to the agency’s myriad crises: a clogged processing and transportation network, severe staffing shortages and $188.4 billion in liabilities. The prolonged performance declines have eroded the reputation of one of the few government agencies that boast generations of broad public support.
**SNIP**
DeJoy is pressing forward with a strategic plan to combat years of “financial stress, underinvestment, unachievable service standards and lack of operational precision,” even as congressional Democrats clamor for his removal. That plan - which will include higher prices and slower delivery standards, according to people briefed on the details - will come out in March, DeJoy told the House panel.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Right now....I have two bills, one to Sears and the other to ANEX that have not yet been received yet. They both were sent over ten days ago. I was going to cancel the checks and pay them electronically.....but I was told to stand pat. Both Sears & AMEX better not ever charge me interest or penalties for late payment. I have never been late on any bill payment...period!!! The USPS should be turned over to a private company...immediately!!!!
I ordered a calendar from Germany. It was shipped on December 5. I received it February 25.
In talking to the shipper in Germany their postal system is no better.
https://abc7.com/usps-coronavirus-slow-mail-delivery-louis-dejoy/6366308/
In an official statement to Eyewitness News, a Postal Service spokesperson blamed many of their recent difficulties on the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has led to heavy parcel volumes as customers continue to place online orders of essential items as they shelter in place,” said spokesperson John Hyatt. “U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail products and First-Class packages may require more time to be delivered due to limited transportation availability.
While I’ve been cheesed off about mail delays, I have another tale.
My mail lady is an older, hispanic, deaf person.
She’s a real sweetheart.
When I see her on my cameras walking up to my door, I answer before she hits my mailbox. We say, “Hi,” smile and are friendly with each other. Always have been.
She also sees that I have a gun on my hip most of the time. I home carry.
Sometimes, she needs to use my bathroom, and I always let her. She’s told me that my house is the only one she trusts.
Anyhoo, three days ago she’s bringing the mail up. When I greet her, she starts gesturing wildly with a frustrated face.
My sign language is quite rusty, so she grabs her pen. When I hand her the back of a piece of junk mail for her to write down what she’s saying, I get it back with a single word on it:
“BIDEN”
Yeah, she’s REALLY not a fan.
I just thought that was funny.
I shipped a package from Western PA to Delaware February 1.
The USPS diverted it to St.Louis, then Memphis, then to Philadelphia where it was scanned 18 days ago. It still hasn’t been delivered.
Both will charge you, and make you jump through painful hurdles to undue the damage.
Their business model is to make interactions too painful to deal with that you just take it in the keister.
I sent a security deposit back to a renter. From NJ to NJ. It left on the 9th. It did not arrive as of yesterday so I stopped payment on the check and am going to wire transfer the money to the guy today. Both transactions are $35 each so I’m out $70 due to USPS incompetence.
I guess “the check is in the mail” is a valid excuse now.
Haven’t paid a bill via mail in about 30 years.
Hate Amazon all you want but if they say next day delivery (even on weekends) the item shows up the next day.
I more or less quit using the mail service. All of my bills are paid automatically each month from my bank account.
This is an operation whose primary source of revenue is now junk mail. And almost all junk mail is (plastic) coated paper and/or paper with inks, dyes, chemicals. Nearly 100% of it goes in the trash and, subsequently, into landfills.>>> You can open the package and send all the little postcards back. I’ve done it. And you can take you address off an put return to sender on it. Stuff in the mailbox. Done that too. Soon the Post office will realize that it should raise the bulk rates.
Not too long ago I witnessed a postal driver sitting in her vehicle talking on her phone for a half hour.......
Featherbedding and Slowdown are two of union’s favorite tactics. Government unions are a cancer and produce little in positive outcomes with regard to services to the taxpayers. In fact, unions in general are an anachronism which are now more about politics than helping the dues payers.
I love my mail lady and take care of her at Christmas. That’s about as far up the organisational chart as my love extends. 99.9% of my bills are auto-bankdraft...including church tithing; 100% of pension-type payments are direct deposit. There is the occasional check that arrives via the mailbox...but few and far between. I can honestly say the USPS thrill is gone.
Not just USPS. I have FedEx items stuck in their Memphis hub. No updates since February 19th. Package originally scheduled for delivery last Saturday (the 20th). I’m aware they had huge problems in Memphis, but I’m surprised they haven’t communicated. A tracking inquiry simply says “pending”. Just curious, has anyone else had problems with FedEx recently?
I have two packages stuck in the USPS for three weeks now. The value of the packages are over $300. One package is from My Pillow and the other is some custom tent poles.
I do not think I will every use USPS again.
If you have anything important to mail out side of you local area use FedEx, they have envelopes too.
I had to pay a $35 late fee because a credit card bill never arrived. Lots of other bills are arriving two to three weeks after the date shown on the invoice, and generally just a few days before the due date.
I get packages to Ukraine in about two weeks 😁🇺🇦
Yes. I shipped a box from our NJ facility to our German facility. It left on the 12th. It made it to Tennessee. That's the extent of what I know at this point.
Here's the tracking number. 125105193630 International Priority. This box cost us $126.40 cents to ship...poof. It contained 3 large machine fixtures which cost about $500 each, so there's that too.
The only thing the USPS is competent at is rigging elections
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