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.
As long as there is mail to bring to any address we deliver 6 days per week (Mon-Sat). It's not always the same letter carrier who goes to the same address each day but it often is. If you live in an apartment and lost your mailbox key, I don't know that the letter carrier would open the mailbox for you or make any special delivery arrangements to deliver it to your suite or apartment unless they knew who you were and were willing to help until a replacement key could be acquired. I'm not even sure who would get you a replacement key, but I think it is the building management or the landlord.
The letter will not get to the bank because there is no way for the USPS to know where the intended address is. The fact that there was no postage on it also doesn't help matters. I don't know how you will get the letter back unless you put your return address on the envelope. If that is the case the letter should eventually be retuned to you for an address and proper postage. I can't guarantee how long it will take to get the letter back, but you should get it returned eventually. There is no way to track where that letter is. Thanks for writing.
That's good that you have a neighbor looking out for you. I don't know why the letter carrier would do what he did. Is it possible they didn't receive your forwarding order? If you did it online and received a confirmation then they likely got it. Furthermore there should be zero mail in your box if you have a temporary COA in effect and there are no other residents at your house who are receiving mail. It sounds like an oversight or carelessness. To answer your question, I would say no. Mail has to go through our CFS (computer forwarding system...or centralized forwarding system) to be redirected. You aren't allowed to handwrite the new address and then just redeposit it. One suggestion I have is for the neighbor to rubberband your mail and leave it in either your or their mailbox putting a note on top saying "please forward this mail as this addressee has a temporary COA in effect and no mail should be delivered to your permanent address until further notice". I hope that works out for you. Thanks for writing.
It is generally not a great idea to send cash through the US Mail but I think it is highly unlikely that a letter carrier would be the one to steal anything out of the mail. Most of us don't even think twice about what is inside an envelope as we get probably a couple of thousand envelopes each day to deliver. It is also unlikely for a letter to get stolen at all. If you are concerned about this and still want to send cash in an envelope I would wrap the money in a sheet of paper so it can't be seen through an envelope. If it is inside a greeting card we wouldn't be able to see it.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon
Obstetrician Gynecologist
Fashion Forecaster
I don't believe this is as nosy as you think. You are technically correct that we deliver to an address, but sometimes there are names that previously resided at an address who have moved years ago and the mailman may want to have that mail returned to sender "Unable To Forward" because the mail forwarding period has expired. I will do this on occasion but I may not ask directly what a person's surname is. If I see a person at an address and at the same time I see a name on a mailpiece that I'm not familiar with, I may ask the person if the name on the mail is valid to deliver there. It is possible that the mailman just wants to deliver the mail correctly and may not have been nosy, but I can't say for sure. When in doubt as to the proper name at an address, I will often just deliver the mailpiece in question and hope that the residents will advise if it isn't correct. Thanks for your question.
I am not sure of the prior military service will help you achieve a higher pay scale, but it does count towards US gov't service with respect to retirement. The starting pay is apprx 16.50 an hour and full pay is currently 28.50 per hour. When you are hired, the position is a City Carrier Assistant. If you go to www.nalc.org and search for paychart that should help you.
I dont know what you can do for sure to stop the owner's mail from being delivered to your unit if it has your apt # on it. Your neighbor may have contacted some companies to get them to change it, but I imagine names and addresses are often sold from one company to the next which results in the wrong address being distributed to other mailers. You can put a note in your mailbox saying "please only deliver mail for (insert your name(s) here" and that may stop your neighbors mail from being delivered to you. You are correct that it is your neighbors responsibility to advise senders of their correct address if the want to receive their mail.
-OR-
(max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)