while u.s. the postal service (usps) says it’s not unusual for an address to not receive mail every day, sometimes an empty mailbox is a problem. We’ve all gone to the post office expecting a long-awaited letter or package, only to return disappointed. The postal service has faced backlash in recent months over late deliveries, largely caused by the impacts of the covid pandemic, staff shortages and rising mail volumes. But in some cases, your mail may not be delivered for reasons other than USPS delays. in fact, you may be preventing the postal service from delivering. Read on to discover the five most common reasons why your email isn’t showing up.
Related: USPS will no longer allow you to do this, effective immediately.
If your mailbox is empty, it could be because something’s blocking it. According to the USPS, a blocked mailbox will prevent delivery. “Customers are required, as a condition of delivery, to ensure that proper access is provided to mail receptacles,” the Postal Service states on its website. “Without such access, the safety of the carrier is jeopardized.”
Even a car parked in the wrong place could cause you to miss your carrier’s delivery route. “Under our policy, the city or rural carrier must exit the vehicle to make the delivery if the mailbox is temporarily blocked by a vehicle,” the agency explains. “However, if the carrier continually experiences a problem servicing the curb line or rural boxes where the customer can control street parking, the postmaster may withdraw the delivery service.”
Related: USPS is under fire for not letting people do this.
You might know your dog is a love bug, but that doesn’t mean your mail carrier does. While the presence of dogs at an address doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t get your mail, it’s often a factor that ends up obstructing delivery. According to the USPS, “owners must confine their dogs during delivery hours,” as a loose dog could be viewed as an immediate threat to postal workers.
and this could mean more than a day or two with an empty mailbox. “Delivery service may be temporarily withdrawn when animals interfere with our ability to complete mail delivery,” the postal service warns, noting that owners will be “immediately notified” if their service has been suspended due to a dog or another animal loose on the premises. .
“Mail delivery will resume as soon as the postal service is confident the animal is no longer a threat,” the USPS states on its website. “Loose dogs can affect mail delivery for multiple addresses and an entire neighborhood.”
“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” might be the Postal Service creed, but there are limits! Hazardous conditions or natural disasters could result in an empty mailbox as well. According to the USPS, delivery serviced “may be delayed or curtailed” whenever streets or walkways are dangerous for carriers or their vehicles. “The Postal Service curtails delivery only after careful consideration, and only as a last resort,” the agency says, noting that it releases service alerts to provide consumers info about postal disruptions due to natural disasters or other hazardous concerns.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb
This may include snow in the winter. But if the USPS is delivering mail to surrounding neighbors and not you after a snowstorm, it could be personal: There may not be adequate access to your mailbox under the agency’s locked mailbox provision. “proper access” includes removing all snow from the area in front of your curbside mailbox or from sidewalks leading to any home-mounted mailboxes, according to the postal service.
If you can’t shovel all the snow and your mail is undeliverable, you can try one of the alternatives provided by the USPS. you can “arrange with a neighbor to get your mail, set up a suitable temporary mailbox, meet the carrier at your mailbox, or pick up your mail at the local post office.”
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Don’t let your mailbox overflow and expect your mail carrier to just keep piling new mail inside. Instead, you might end up finding your box completely empty one day—except for a form from the USPS. “If a mail receptacle is deemed by the letter carrier to be full, the letter carrier will leave a ‘We ReDeliver for You’ form (PS Form 3849) in that receptacle and return the overflow mail to the local Post Office location for pickup,” the Postal Service explains on its website.
Your local post office will hold your mail for up to 10 days, but it will be returned to the senders if you haven’t picked it up or scheduled a new delivery after this time period. to pick it up at the office, you will need to bring a photo ID. and if you’re scheduling a new delivery, someone needs to be home when you return your mail.
Do you live out in the sticks? There needs to be a safe way to get there, or your mail won’t show up. According to the Postal Service’s laws and regulations, “impassable roads, bad condition of roads, unsafe bridges, dangerous fords, or other obstructions” that impede travel are all grounds for a worker to refuse delivery service.
And yes, this mail delay can also be permanent. “Persons responsible for road maintenance should be notified of road conditions that obstruct mail delivery. If repairs are not made immediately, service may be suspended,” the USPS says.
Related: USPS is making this change permanent.