A jerky postal worker with an attitude just rang my doorbell to ask my husband not to write on other people's mail, because "it's a federal offense." This is mail that was incorrectly delivered to us (shocking, I know), and my husband had written "Not at this address, please return to sender" on it or something similar. I was too pissed off at his attitude to question the postal worker about how you're supposed to handle incorrectly delivered mail but am dubious about his "federal offense" reasoning and think he was just having a bad day and wanted to be a pissy jerk to someone.
2007-02-23 08:53:14 · 11 answers · asked by ozfan98 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Wow, that's weird. I've never had that happen. What a jerk! I usually just circle the address if its the wrong address. If it's not the correct person, but the correct address, it depends on what it is. If it is obviously junk mail, it goes in the trash. Otherwise, I just write "not at this address" on the envelope. I've never had any problems. At work we get stuff returned that way all the time!
2007-02-23 09:00:05 · answer #1 · answered by bffer1 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
I write Return to Sender or Not Current Tenant on mail all the time and no one has said anything. It's OPENING mail that's a federal offense. Report your mail carrier to the post office.
2007-02-23 09:01:14 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Wow, even your avatar is cute.
Makes me think of the comedian who asks why fast food workers get mad when you ask for extra ketchup. What's it to them if someone sends a piece of mail back?
I could have just tossed the guy's magazine in the trash. Sorry you got chastised for my (admittedly lazy method of) attempting to do the right thing.
The guy is full of it. Isn't his job to simply remove everything that looks like a piece of mail from our mailbox and stuff it in a bag for someone else to sort back at the post office? How much time was wasted coming to the door to yell at you? I swear... what do we get, maybe five pieces of mail a week since the rest of it goes to the post office box? Ingrate.
You're probably wondering if it's worth reporting him. I wouldn't. If he gets that bent out of shape over the use of a sharpie to clearly, politely and legibly identify the problem (and solution) on a plastic sleeve wrapped around a magazine, what's he gonna do if we report him? We don't own a bulletproof door.
2007-02-23 09:28:15 · answer #3 · answered by tvjames 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The same thing just happened to me. When I told her (mine is a female) this has happened so many times already and checks to me got delivered to my neighbors (lucky me they returned them), this is my FIRST time write "wrong address". Instead of having the common sense apology (like I would do at work), she said "we are not robots, we make mistakes". OK then! No wonder people don't want to use USPS anymore and how do they get paid?? That attitude like she works for the IRS. Even the IRS I worked with has MUCH better attitude than that. If you are so stressed, you don't have to work there, don't pass the attitude to the customers/taxpayers.
2016-06-01 12:01:29 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I m a postal carrier, and sometimes mistakes are made. Writing on some else s mail is just petty. Just leave it in your box and put the flag up. If you write on it, we have to black in out or wash it off before we deliver it to the right person. Be civil and call us jerks because we make mistakes, too. No one is perfect.
2016-05-15 17:06:49 · answer #5 · answered by Laurie Martin 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it's not illegal by any means. If it came to you but it belongs to someone else, you need to write on it to let them know it was delivered to the wrong address. That jerk just didn't want to get in trouble for delivering it to you in stead of the right address.
Tell him to kiss off.
2007-02-23 09:43:43 · answer #6 · answered by Kevin A 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, he was just being a pissy jerk. I've never, ever heard that it's a federal offense to write "return to sender" or "wrong address" on something. That's just silly.
2007-02-23 08:57:30 · answer #7 · answered by CrysV 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
If the address is yours on the letter and that person does not live there then your husband did precisely the right thing. If it was delivered to the wrong address then all you needed to do was put it back in the box, but still no reason for the post man to do that.
2007-02-23 08:58:39 · answer #8 · answered by cbk 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Contact your local post office and not only report this person but ask how you should handle this occurrence in the future.
2007-02-23 09:01:10 · answer #9 · answered by jboatright57 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I know how you feel. I write it on a "post-it" note and stick the note on the mail.
2007-02-23 08:59:37 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋