When you trust your checks each month, you don’t have time for them to disappear.
Unfortunately, if you receive your check in the mail, there’s a chance it won’t show up.
Since the USPS handles thousands, if not millions, of pieces of mail every day, it’s inevitable that some of those pieces will get lost.
If you find yourself in this situation, then you may be wondering what your options are for finding your lost check.
Here are 10 things you can do if your check is lost in the mail.
lost check in the mail (10 things you can do)
1. check your mail
One of the first things to do if you notice your check hasn’t arrived is to check your mail.
If you’re getting a lot of ads and spam, there’s a chance the envelope is in the clutter.
It’s also easy to miss your check when you’re quickly separating junk mail from important mail.
To check your mail again, you’ll want to take it piece by piece.
This can get annoying, especially when you have a stack of ads to go through.
While sorting, be sure to put junk mail in a clean stack and important mail in another.
There is a chance that your check will slip between some ads.
It’s also worth checking your bin if you still have it to make sure you didn’t miss a check from a previous batch of mail.
Once you’ve checked everything and still haven’t found it, you can move on to the next step.
2. check with the employer to determine the status of the check
Even if you’ve gotten used to receiving your check on a certain day, it doesn’t always mean you’ll always get it on that day.
sometimes it can take a day for an employer to post the email.
This is why you should check below to see if your employer sent the check.
There could have been an error or your employer may not have been able to post the checks on the day they normally do.
things happen and sometimes people can’t be as efficient as they would like.
By checking with your employer, you can determine if your check was sent to you.
if not, then you know they haven’t yet.
Your check isn’t lost, it’s just on its way to you.
You can also determine if there was a delay on behalf of your employer.
Your check is arriving, but it may not show up in your mail for a day or two.
If your employer sent your check, then you know there could be a problem.
Checking with your employer about the status of your check can be a great way to narrow down the possible reason your check is missing.
3. wait a few days
Although the mail system is usually quite efficient, some delays can always occur.
Weather, traffic, vehicle problems, and even labor shortages can cause a delay in receiving your mail.
There is also the possibility that there will be a holiday within the week the usps take off.
if that is the case, then your mail may be delayed by a day or more.
sometimes the best thing to do is wait a few days.
at most, you must wait five days for your check to arrive.
If it still hasn’t arrived by then, something is clearly wrong.
However, you must give the USPS a chance to deliver the mail to you.
As mentioned above, you can’t expect your mail to arrive on the same day every time.
4. inform usps
After about five days, if your check still hasn’t arrived, it’s time to let the USPS know.
You need to contact your local post office and tell them about the missing piece of mail.
The USPS does not track First Class Mail or other types of mail.
at a minimum, they do not provide that kind of information to the public.
That’s because USPS handles a lot of mail that contains private and sensitive information.
If they made tracking information public, criminals could know where the postal trucks are at any time.
This would give them the opportunity to hijack a truck and steal mail containing sensitive information.
That said, the USPS does have some tracking systems of its own.
You can use them to potentially get an idea of where your check may have gone.
When you call the postal service, you will need to provide them with some information about the missing mail.
the direction it’s supposed to go and where it came from can help you get an idea of where it might have gone.
There is also one other thing you can do that can help the USPS potentially locate your lost check.
5. determine if your check had tracking information
sometimes employers use a specific type of mail that allows them to track your mail.
at a minimum, it allows the usps to track mail.
When your check is lost, you should check with your employer to determine if they use a class that includes tracking.
if so, you need to get that tracking info and give it to usps.
the usps can use that information to find out where the mail was last sorted.
They can contact employees at that facility, who can then search the area for the check.
will be able to review their own records to determine if they were sorted incorrectly or stuck somewhere.
There’s always a chance it fell through the seats of a mail carrier’s truck or got stuck in some container.
if facility employees find it, they can send it to the proper address.
They usually make it a priority order at no additional cost to help speed it up.
Having tracking information for your mail can go a long way when a check goes missing.
However, not all employees use this type of mail or service.
If your employer doesn’t, then it might be worth mentioning if you find yourself in this situation again.
6. contact the bank
The next important step to take if your check is lost in the mail is to contact your bank.
You will need to get some information from your employer to help the bank stop the payment.
First, you’ll need to know the check number.
Your employer can provide you with this information.
The bank will also want to know when your employer mailed the check.
You can also get this information from your employer.
Another important thing you’ll want to know is how much the check was for.
all of this information helps them know exactly when an attempt to cash the check occurs.
can prevent payment from occurring.
This means the employer doesn’t lose money and you don’t lose your pay.
Since someone has likely stolen your check in this case, you won’t be able to access the money either.
even more, it can alert the bank of a possible attempt to cash the check.
The bank can give those details to the authorities who can hopefully trace them back to the thief.
The bank may also request a few more details about the check, so it’s a good idea to get as much information as you can from your employer about it.
Stopping your check payment is a great way to make sure no one loses money and no one gains money illegally.
It’s also worth mentioning that you’ll probably have to pay for this service.
Depending on the bank, you may have to pay $20 or $30.
That’s because the bank is using resources to locate this particular check and make sure it doesn’t cash.
7. inform the employer to stop payment
If you haven’t talked to your employer about the missing check yet, then this is the time you really need to.
In addition to placing a stop payment on your end, they also need to place a stop payment on your end.
however, they will not know to do this until you inform them of the situation.
The employer may have some questions for you, but would appreciate an explanation of the problem.
To make sure you don’t lose money, you can go to your bank and stop payment on the check.
With both stops in effect, it will be virtually impossible for the thief to cash the check.
making your employer aware of the situation and allowing them to stop payment on the check allows them to take the next step they need to take.
8. request a new check
At this point, you should request a new check from your employer.
They owe you a payment, so they can’t deny the request.
An employer will generally offer two options.
The first is to send a new check immediately.
Sometimes the employer will pay for priority shipping or tracking to make sure this check gets to you quickly and smoothly.
If the check goes missing again, at least you’ll have the tracking information linked to help the USPS figure out what’s going on.
The second thing an employer might offer is to wait until your next paycheck.
In this case, your check will be doubled as it will include two rounds of payment.
Since it’s not always a viable solution for people living paycheck to paycheck, you’ll obviously want to go with the first option.
At a minimum, you should request a new check from your employer.
In most cases, you won’t need to request anything, as it happens automatically when the employer becomes aware of the problem.
however, it’s still worth mentioning to make sure the employer is taking those steps.
9. contact the police
While missing mail isn’t exactly an emergency, it’s worth mentioning to the police.
This is especially true if you frequently lose your checks.
could mean there’s a crook in your area stealing people’s mail.
You probably won’t be the only victim either.
By informing the police about the situation, they can start monitoring the problem.
They may even be able to catch the thief, which means you won’t have to worry about losing checks for long.
Please note that this is not an emergency, so please do not use the hotlines to report the problem.
even a casual visit to the station can be enough.
10. suggest a new payment method
The last thing you should do when your check is lost in the mail is suggest a new payment method to your employer.
getting checks in the mail is archaic and slow.
You can request another payment method.
For example, you can ask to receive your checks in person if you work in an office.
this eliminates the need for the usps.
You can get your check directly from your boss and have it in your pocket on payday.
Your employer should also consider implementing direct deposit with their banks.
in this case, you can skip the verification process altogether.
Your payment goes directly to your bank as soon as it clears.
finally, you can always trust other payment platforms like venmo or paypal.
This is another electronic payment method that allows you to get your money faster and more reliably.
You can then use that money to deposit into your bank or even top up your credit or debit cards, depending on which app you use.
When you change your employer’s payment method, you’ll never have to worry about losing checks in the mail.
Why is your check missing in the mail?
following the steps above can help you handle a situation where your check is lost in the mail, but you may be wondering why your check is missing in the first place.
These are some of the reasons your check might be missing.
1. delayed mail
One of the reasons your check might be missing is that the USPS is experiencing delays.
There could be several reasons why the USPS might be dealing with a delay.
Bad weather is one of them.
During winter, tornado season, and even hurricane season, the USPS faces some serious problems.
Roads can be difficult to navigate if they are littered with debris and fallen trees.
During the winter, roads can be too icy or blocked by snow.
mail carriers may have to wait for someone to clear the roads or put on salt.
In terms of storm damage, they may have to wait until the county removes the trees from the road.
Even something as simple as a violent thunderstorm can slow down the USPS.
if it’s not safe to drive outside, then you have to take cover until it’s safe to drive.
Unfortunately, this means that mail could be delayed by a day or even several days.
another big delay they could face is traffic and broken down trucks.
Since the USPS is on a very tight budget, they rely on very old vehicles to get around.
It is inevitable that the truck breaks down.
When that happens, the mail has to go on a different truck.
Since that carrier already has its own route, then it has to cover an additional route.
they may not be able to do it in the allotted time to deliver the mail.
as such, mail is delayed.
Your check may not have arrived yet due to delays on the USPS end.
2. employer delays
It’s not just the USPS that may be causing a delay in the arrival of your check.
Your employer could also be at fault.
Your employer is likely handling tons of different paychecks on payday.
That’s why it takes time to write all the checks and prepare them for delivery.
Other things can also happen that prevent you from getting to the post office on time.
if they just put your mail in the box, they may not have arrived in time to put it in the box before the carrier arrives.
Problems in your personal life could also be causing a delay.
if they have a newborn, for example, they may have been up all night with the baby.
they may not have had time to write everyone’s checks.
As such, they may not have put the mail in the mailbox until the next day.
If there are other processing delays, your check may not appear for a few days.
The employer can also cause your check to go missing for a few days if you don’t mail it in on time.
3. robbery
Perhaps the most annoying and frightening reason your check is missing is theft.
While it’s difficult for thieves to cash checks made out to someone else, it’s not impossible.
for a seasoned thief, they can have a bank cash the check and end up with a nice payday for themselves.
In their eyes, the money they make is worth the risk.
The problem with theft is that you have no idea where in the process it happened.
did someone steal it from the till after your employer mailed all your checks?
someone at one of the sorting facilities stole it?
Could someone have stolen it right out of your mailbox?
finding the thief can be difficult unless they are trying to cash you in.
To make sure they don’t get your money, you should stop payment through your bank as soon as you suspect your check is missing.
conclusion
Losing a check is not a pleasant affair.
There are several steps you need to take to make sure you get the check or prevent someone else from taking your money.
Your check could be lost for a number of reasons, but the most serious is theft.