Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

if you are a us postal service worker can you solicit your own business while delivering your route?

Asked by Pepito over 10 years ago

I think it is inappropriate to solicit your own business while delivering a route for the USPS. I haven't heard of anyone being disciplined for doing this, but I would think that it is technically not allowed. I know of a couple of co-workers who do home improvements, landscaping, or sprinkler work as side jobs but don't know if they actually try to get business while delivering mail. If they want to do a postcard mailing to try and get business I suppose that would be fine as long as proper postage was paid for the mailing and they didn't just put their own postcards in mailboxes while delivering the mail and not affixing postage to it.

623 Votes

I had my bank mail a check to someone but it was sent to an incorrect address. The check was cashed/stolen. Would the carrier leave it at an address even though the name was not someone who lived there? Should it have been returned to the sender?

Asked by Nonni5 almost 11 years ago

I can't say for sure what should have happened with the check that was mailed to the wrong address. It is bad that the check was cashed by an unintended party. A letter carrier doesn't always know who lives at each address and there are many days where a replacement carrier or CCA (City Carrier Assistant) is delivering the mail. If I'm not sure that piece of mail should go the address on the envelope, I will likely deliver it anyway with a "?" written next to the name. Hopefully the resident at the address would put the envelope back in the mail if it doesn't belong to them and write "doesn't live here" on the outside.

623 Votes

Hello. I live in a apartment community and have recently been asked by my manager "why does my son get his xfinity bill at your address and why don't he have his mail go to his own address?" Basically, can postman tell mgr. who gets mail at your box?

Asked by Jonay253 over 10 years ago

I don't think the letter carrier (postman) should be commenting at all to anyone who gets mail in your box. Not that it matters, but it seems quite normal to have a bill sent to another address. Maybe you pay his XFinity bill for him. Either way that doesn't matter with regards to your question. If this comes up again, I would politely tell the manager that it's not his business who receives mail at your address. If you happen to see the letter carrier, you could mention that he shouldn't be giving out that information and as long as you, the tenant, are accepting mail for your son (or whomever) then it should be delivered accordingly by the USPS employee. I am not familiar with any circumstances that allows us to verbally confirm who gets mail at an address.

622 Votes

My sister was recently in jail. Our mail carrier saw letters from us going to her at the jail and has been telling a lot of people about her being in jail. Is this legal for him to do?

Asked by Gregory over 10 years ago

I can't quote the statute that says it is illegal for the letter carrier to discuss with others the fact that your sister was in jail, however it is entirely inappropriate and probably against postal regulations re: sanctity and confidentiality of the mail. I see mail going to/from prison while delivering the mail but never say a word to anybody about it. I'm not sure if you want to discuss it with your letter carrier to tell him how wrong it was to say anything to anybody. I also don't know it it would go anywhere if you complained to the USPS about his behavior. Legally, you may also need proof or witnesses if in fact it is illegal what the letter carrier divulged to others. I know I'd be very upset if I found out my letter carrier was talking about things they should be confidential about, but not sure what avenue I would take to resolve it.

622 Votes

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If the mail man doesn't find the address does he keep the mail at post office?

Asked by Tenzin chonyi almost 11 years ago

Maybe for a day or so to see if anybody in the PO knows where that address is. Being that I deliver mail to the same neighborhood each day I know if a piece of mail has a valid address on it or not. It's possible if there is a replacement letter carrier delivering mail on a certain day and they can't find an address they will bring back the mail and then possibly the regular letter carrier on the route or somebody else would know where the address is. More often than not when mail has an address that can't be found (or the address doesn't even exist), we will endorse the mail as "NSN" which means "No Such Number" and it will be returned to the sender. The USPS has a national database of all valid addresses so we usually know at the PO if an address exists or not.

622 Votes

Let's say you ordered something 'embarrassing' (although not illegal or hazardous) such as a playboy magazine or whatever, that is in a boxed package. Is there a way for the mailman to know what you have?

Asked by robert almost 11 years ago

I'd say there is no obvious way to know what is in a box. The return address can sometimes give a clue, but if it's Adult Entertainment or sexual toys/gadgets, the mailer is usually discreet in the return address and packaging. Playboy magazines that are subscribed to are usually easy to spot because it comes via Periodical Class, is polywrapped and you don't see the cover. I do notice those magazines (but few people get them anymore) and ads for Adult Videos, but nothing else really catches my eye when delivering packages or mail with respect to them being embarrassing. Good question.

622 Votes

My landlord & I have the same mailbox & for some reason his girlfriend & son continue to take my mail into the house & when I ask about the landlord says no your mail isn't in my house & 10-15 mins later he appears with my mail

Asked by Cynthia over 10 years ago

They really shouldn't be taking your mail into their unit or house or apt if you don't shared the same living space with them and they aren't responsible about giving it to you. It may not be easy but you could politely ask the landlord and girlfriend and son to maybe leave your mail in the box or slip it under your door if that's accessible or appropriate. I agree it's not good for you to need to be concerned if someone is taking your mail and giving it to you at their convenience. I know it's not the answer you'd like to hear, but a PO Box rental would solve this issue. The drawback is that it costs money and is probably less convenient than getting mail at your residence. The USPS would probably not get involved in separating out your mail and putting in to a different mail receptacle unless the unit was officially designated an apt for mail receiving purposes. I don't know how one would go about doing this or the complexity of it. We have a database of authorized addresses that we go by to deliver the mail and if there aren't multiple units designated in the same dwelling, all of the mail would normally be put together.

622 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

if you are a us postal service worker can you solicit your own business while delivering your route?

I had my bank mail a check to someone but it was sent to an incorrect address. The check was cashed/stolen. Would the carrier leave it at an address even though the name was not someone who lived there? Should it have been returned to the sender?

Hello. I live in a apartment community and have recently been asked by my manager "why does my son get his xfinity bill at your address and why don't he have his mail go to his own address?" Basically, can postman tell mgr. who gets mail at your box?

My sister was recently in jail. Our mail carrier saw letters from us going to her at the jail and has been telling a lot of people about her being in jail. Is this legal for him to do?

Also on Jobstr...

If the mail man doesn't find the address does he keep the mail at post office?

Let's say you ordered something 'embarrassing' (although not illegal or hazardous) such as a playboy magazine or whatever, that is in a boxed package. Is there a way for the mailman to know what you have?

My landlord & I have the same mailbox & for some reason his girlfriend & son continue to take my mail into the house & when I ask about the landlord says no your mail isn't in my house & 10-15 mins later he appears with my mail

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

if you are a us postal service worker can you solicit your own business while delivering your route?

I had my bank mail a check to someone but it was sent to an incorrect address. The check was cashed/stolen. Would the carrier leave it at an address even though the name was not someone who lived there? Should it have been returned to the sender?

Hello. I live in a apartment community and have recently been asked by my manager "why does my son get his xfinity bill at your address and why don't he have his mail go to his own address?" Basically, can postman tell mgr. who gets mail at your box?

My sister was recently in jail. Our mail carrier saw letters from us going to her at the jail and has been telling a lot of people about her being in jail. Is this legal for him to do?

Also on Jobstr...

If the mail man doesn't find the address does he keep the mail at post office?

Let's say you ordered something 'embarrassing' (although not illegal or hazardous) such as a playboy magazine or whatever, that is in a boxed package. Is there a way for the mailman to know what you have?

My landlord & I have the same mailbox & for some reason his girlfriend & son continue to take my mail into the house & when I ask about the landlord says no your mail isn't in my house & 10-15 mins later he appears with my mail

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