Request: USPS Complaint Forum

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by sonnyu2

Delayed packages show back up all the time. And yes USPS will pay out on a properly insured / submitted / documented claim.

USPS processes and delivers 23-million packages every day. Based on that, the actual rate of lost mail, delayed packages, damaged packages, etc. is extremely low.

You typically only hear about the few "bad" USPS transactions, not the millions of successful deliveries that happen every day.

Package your item correctly and label / address your package correctly, and your package will get delivered successfully 99.999% of the time.

True, just like luggage on flights, almost everything gets delivered eventually although there are delays at times which can be frustrating since usually there isn't much that can be done other than wait and hope for the best.

As to claims, I've never had to try to file one, but I have definitely read posts on the board about people having significant issues getting a claim paid. Like other insurance, getting paid for something through a claim isn't always straightforward and fast.

[jchcollins]

My general experience with missing mail or lost packages is that the USPS (albeit politely sometimes...) does not give a F.

If they can still track your package and have an idea, the customer service is decent. But if something goes missing for weeks on end and feels like a black hole situation, I've been told in no uncertain terms before to forget about it. This last happened to me probably some 5-7 years ago when a package inbound to me with trade items (including a Mantle) went into a hole in the distribution center about 20 miles from me. Never did resurface, and for all I know is still either gathering dust under a sorter somewhere, or is now in the collection of a shady employee as we speak.

[sb1]

I have also used the USPS near exclusively for over 20 years and have only had one go missing(Postal employee theft), which was eventually recovered. I will say that parcels with tracking and/or signature required rarely go undelivered(delayed no doubt), first class stamped mail is more haphazard.

Also I will say that a PO Box(at a real post office) is a huge benefit, as most packages that are "lost" are usually either misdelivered on a mail route or taken by a opportunist passing by. My incoming packages are signed for and stored for my pickup, no worries of another person handling it or a nefarious party heisting the package.

Lastly as someone who regularly visits the PO I know the clerks and postmasters and when something get bogged down, they can provide a much more detailed tracking history down to the bin that the package is in at a sorting facility and when it was last scanned. Which is valuable information if you have to track down a stuck package. If you are nice to them they will be quite helpful.

And, worst case, the one or two times way back in the 1980's and 1990's before tracking and private insurance, the two times I had packages not get delivered I was promptly paid each time right after the 60 or 90 day waiting period.