February 23, 2005

• I recently sent my dad a coat, which I ordered online and had sent to him directly. The final leg of the journey for this package ends up at his local post office. Since he lives in a rural area, there is a "drop box" for packages at the end of the mountain road. When one gets a package, they are placed by the postal worker in the box, and a note is placed in the mailbox of the recipient telling them there is something in the drop box for them. Needless to say, Dad never got his coat. The vendor, intermediary shipper, and the USPS all claim it got to where it was supposed to go,and this is including the word of the postal worker whose route my dad is on. This postal worker's significant other is also a postal worker, and has had trouble in the past with the caretaker of the community because packages have gone missing in the past, when the significant other had the route. Dad's next-door neighbor had a package go missing a few months ago. The general idea here is that a package sent to a resident from a retailer address is often pilfered, as opposed to, say, if I sent it from my address. The retailer will give me my money back, but the issue with the USPS remains. Dad called a contact number and got pretty snotty service- essentially the USPS rep said "we investigate mail fraud, not theft". They suggested we contact the retailer (already done), the intermediary shipper (already done), and the local office (ditto). I cannot believe the USPS does not have an Internal Affairs, or does not care about whether or not two of its employees are potentially stealing. What can be done about this? Who can be contacted? He is going to fill out a police report tomorrow, but I don't know how much good that could do. Any help or suggestions are appreciated. This was a Valentine's gift, and I am really upset.
• Oops. Sorry about the title and any other mistakes. I am restless an it is 2:25 AM here.
• Yup, the USPS does have an internal affairs department. "The Internal Affairs Division's mission is to promote integrity and excellence in the Postal Inspection Service through independent internal investigations of its employees ..." They have some advice: "If you believe your mail was stolen, report it immediately to your local postmaster or nearest Postal Inspector. You'll be asked to file a formal complaint using PS Form 2016, Mail Theft and Vandalism Complaint. By analyzing information collected from the form, Postal Inspectors may determine whether your problem is isolated or part of a larger mail theft problem in your neighborhood" --Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
• Your description of the drop box sounds as if the box is not locked so that anybody could open it and take what is inside. If that's the case, could it be a neighbor or a passerby who took the coat? The situation sucks no matter who is stealing packages, but changing the person who delivers mail might not fix the problem. In any case, filing theft reports with the police and the post office is something concrete your father can do, which might help him feel better. He should encourage his neighbors to do the same if they lose packages. This establishes a pattern of thefts which will help draw attention to the problem.
• Shades of...Newman!
• I would be tempted to mail a cell phone and then call the bastard when they stole it!
• Ummm, roughly one zillion deliveries are made in the US daily...maybe a delivery guy is pilfering, but you have to ask, is it worth it to him? Maybe a re-delivery using registered mail would halt the short-term bleeding, but hey, I've known deliveries to take up to 4 times as long as expected, let us know what happens!
• Mail theft? That's a paddlin'.
• orococo, well, I agree, but after my Dad spoke to the community caretaker (he and Mom just moved to the mountains in July), it seems that there is a history with the postal worker that Dad was unaware of. Taking things that are new and retail and reselling them is actually a really good idea, in amoral and crappy way. I wish I could redeliver it. It is a discontinued item from a third party retailer; a coat that is usually 250$, I found for like 40 bucks on clearance. I wa going to get Dad some CDs, but when I saw this.... Nal, the box is locked. Residents have a key, so it is either the postal workers or another reisdent. But as I said, it seems there was some backstory that Dad was unaware of until he had something shipped USPS. He usually has packages sent FedEx or UPS. Thank you all, and you too, zippy. Thanks all for being kind and funny!
• Paddlin' mail thieves? That's a paddlin'
• Speaking about stealing from customers, just last night I sent off an E-mail reporting an airport parking cashier who took my $45 cash and, from what I found later on the receipt, charged it to an American Express that I don't own (thus pocketing the cash). There's just something that pisses me off about this kind of theft... that could have been my credit card he charged it to. I have heard this scam is getting to be common at hotel front desks.
• There was a ring of waiters in my hometown (Ft. Worth suburb) who were keeping credit card numbers (especially from customers who under-tipped)and using them to rack up huge charges. These waiters were well-organized, and worked at about five different restaurants, so it was a while before they got caught.
• I use a P.O. box for mail & packages I don't want lost, and so far nothing has been.
• Theft is an individual prerogative. I worked most my life as a courier, baggage handler, delivery boy,,etc, and have delivered everything conceivable, from human organs, lost luggage to valentines cards, and never stole anything(except some cocaine I accidently discovered in a Fed X overnight envelope). But I won`t go there right now,,-- however, I worked with people who regularly rifled through various shipments. And I`ve been subject to suspicion along with other employees which is a standard procedure when things come up missing. It`s just against my personal constitution to be paid for a service and exploit the trust of the employer. And yes, as much as no one wants to be known as a snitch, there were times I felt it my obligation to not let things pass, considering the level of deceipt and past experience with those individuals. Undelivered freight should always be reported, as if there is a continuing pattern, it`s a serious problem for the recipient, company and social structure of our society. Oops, there I go again
• Paddlin' the paddlers? That's a... Well, I'll just start paddlin' myself now then, and save you the ride over.