I wrote this post below almost a year ago for some of my readers that had issues with their mail service. I unfortunately had to refer back to this post today to get the links to file some complaints myself. 
I filed a complaint online and I also filed a complaint on the phone with the USPS Postal Inspections Office. The gentleman I spoke with was very nice and I hope to have these issues cleared up soon. I should have an update back from them in a few days.
I suggest taking these steps below ONLY if you know for a fact that you are missing items or if your mail is damaged or noticeably being tampered with. Also…don’t just assume that it is your direct mail carrier. Your mail does go thru several hands before it even reaches your mail carrier. If you are sure that you have a reason to make a complaint, see the forms below and the appropriate steps to take. I can’t promise you that all of your issues will be solved, but they will certainly be looked in to.
I get questions all the time from readers asking what do you if you think your mail carrier or neighbor is stealing your mail This happens far to often with the USPS and it is a sad thing. However, the USPS does take this very serious. Tampering with someone’s mail is a federal offense! So, what do you do?? There are several areas that you should consider if you think that this is happening to you. The forms and info I am providing below can be used for issues regarding your mail being tampered with, ie: open, torn, package/letter with all or some documents/items missing. If you make a report, an investigation will be opened. Keep all documents and records regarding your complaints.
- Contact your local Post Office and put in a complaint. They will need your info (name, address, etc.), they can’t help you otherwise.
- Contact your Regional Post Master. You might have to get the contact information from your local post office.
- Call 1-800-ASK-USPS and file a complaint.
- File a complaint via email at the USPS website
- File a complaint online with the United States Postal Inspection Service
Also, read:
How to protect against thieves
Follow these steps to protect your mail
Previous
I have been getting samples for like 6 months now…and about a month ago, they stopped! I didn’t stop requesting the samples, but somehow they stopped. I called my local post office and put in a complaint that i thought my postman was not delivering all my mail. I also explained that what i was missing was freebies and that I had ordered them. One week later my mailbox was full again!!!!!
If you notice a decline in your freebies, I suggest calling your local post office.
thanks for posting this.
Ok. Be careful with this. Some people are going to jump the gun and go overboard blaming their mailperson for stealing and possibly causing somebody to be falsely accused, possibly charged federally and of course losing their job because they didn’t get their freebies that the companies ran out off. I have been doing freebies for years and they have ALWAYS come in waves. Might be getting them steadily and then, none for a few weeks and then get a load again. Sometimes the companies run out of samples, sometimes your online request doesn’t go through, or you weren’t one of the first 50,000 who requested.
I agree that you shouldn’t jump the gun and complain after a day or so of not getting anything. However, most people know when they are supposed to be getting things in the mail and when they don’t show up and you have than hunch or gut feeling…then proceed with your complaints. For someone to be federally charged or to lose their job over this…they have to be pretty much caught red handed or have complaints in several areas of the neighborhood etc. the post office will not jump the gun and fire someone over one complaint unless they are caught red handed during the investigation. If you are a mailperson and are not doing anything wrong then you have nothing to worry about. It is necessary to file your complaints properly because sometimes it isn’t even the mailman/lady…it could go as far as being the person who sorts the mail.
I put in a complaint with the USPS after I was getting my “freebie” packages, but nothing inside. Every box would be ripped apart, even magazines would have things ripped out of them. Come to find out, our mail-lady was doing this to several people. She was already being looked into, and that was a final straw. We have an awesome new mail-lady now though!
Its sad that it happens so often. Did you all hear about the mailman a few months back from up north that hid 20,000 pieces of mail in the trunk of his car and his home….just because he didn’t feel like delivering them!
Please don’t be so quick to make assumptions about your hardworking mail carrier. It’s bad enough we have to deal with and work under harsh weather environments, get attacked by someones dog (a large percentage of us have), hear complaints when a customer doesn’t receive the mail item he/she is waiting for (we have no control over that), and deliver in some pretty scary areas of the coutry. And to top that off, the USPS is making major cuts in our hours. We once believed we had a secure job, but now we all feel as if we’re walking on egg shells. WE have it hard too. So please, next time you feel upset over not receiving some silly FREE samples in your mail, please don’t be so quick to assume it’s us. In the 10 yrs I’ve been a mail carrier, I’ve never stolen anything…not even a silly flyer and I also don’t know anyone in my department who’s done such a thing. We very well know this is not acceptaple, UPSP makes sure to remind us quite often. An act or accusation like this could lead to termination. So before you write that complaint letter or call the number, please make sure you have some evidence…many of us (myself) are hardworkind, honest, employees with families. I have a 9 months old and am the sole provider for my family. If I lost my job over some false accusation I’d hate to see where I’d end up. =(
Thanks for posting this! What great information for the readers and I’ve often wondered if this happens. I personallyy haven’t had any issues with this although I do get many samples where the boxes have been tampered with.
I am going to link back to you – thanks for sharing!
~ Elizabeth
The Thrifty Divas
First of all, I didn’t write this post to accuse anyone. Like I said if the mailpeople aren’t doing anything wrong then they should have anything to worry about. If you think that you missing mail you have every right to follow thru with a complaint! One complaint cannot get you fired. If you have alot of complaints as a mail person an investigation will be held. They won’t fire you for no reason!
Like in any job, all it takes is one false complaint/accusation to get your supervisors suspicious of you. Will you get fired for one complaint? Not very likely. Will your integrity and work ethics as an employee damage your reputation even though you are an honest employee? Most likely. All I’m saying is please have proof before you put in a complaint. How would a SAHM like CPS called on her over an assumption by a neighbor, a retail worker accused of stealing over giving the wrong change back when it was an honest mistake, etc. I’m really not trying to start any trouble here…just trying to make a point is all.
Cindy, don’t get me wrong, I am not on a rampage against Postal workers. I love my mailperson and I feel very fortunate. I wrote this post because I have received many questions about what to do when you think your mail is being taken or tampered with. Like I said before it doesn’t have to be your mail person, it can be the person who sorts your mail…or even a neighbor! I am not trying to start anything. I simply posted this for people that honestly believe they are missing mail or their mail is being tampered with can take the appropriate steps in figuring out why. I appreciate your comments.
That’s terrible! Yes, most mail carriers are probably fine. Mine is a bit nosy but he’s considerate of the kids etc. But like any profession, there are bad apples out there and it’s great to know what recourse one has for this particular circumstance.
My main problem with mail came when I lived in an apartment building where packages were routinely left by UPS in a common mail area. Not only did tenants steal my door mat (and inexplicably return it months later lol) my grill was stolen and so were packages. (I hope you enjoyed the jam, jerkface!)
Thanks for the interesting article!
This is great! one of my friends kept finding her pet samples open, finnaly she stood at her window and watched as the guy across the street opened hermail box, took her mail to his porch opened the pet samples etc and went back over and put her mail back, the next day she hid outside and taped the whole thing, she submitted it to the police and he was charged with tampering with other people’s mail!
I really appreciate your article, I was referred to it my Coupon Dad. I have major issues with my Postal Carrier. And, I forget these avenues we can venture sometimes. I get my neighbors mail, envelopes opened, mail just shoved in my mailbox, my postal carrier will not get out of her car – she leaves my packages right in the middle of my driveway, and there have been many things I have ordered and not received. Thanks again!
I understand that we shouldnt assume that our mail carrier is the one comfiscating our samples. First and foremost, when a sample is delayed, why not contact the company that offered the sample. As stated above, you never know if your request was really received or if the company simply ran out of supplies. But, to Cindy, it’s rude to state “silly” sample. What might be silly to you, may mean more to someone else. I really appreciate every sample that allows me to try a product that I may not have ever bought simply because I wasnt sure how I would react to it. What may be a silly sample or something silly, may turn out to be something big. I often find lately that my mail lady will shove every piece of mail in my box (ripping some of my good magazines in the process) instead of walking the 3 feet to my door and just giving the excess to me. That’s just silly. So, I ask her not to do it. It stops for about a month. Then, it starts again. Do you think I am silly to then form a formal complaint after verbally asking her to stop just because my magazine subscriptions are free?
I agree with what Koni says – it’s important to not accuse mail carriers without proof. However, having had a multitude of trouble with the local USPS when I was working (packages were not delivered, mail was “lost”, etc), I can tell you that it takes a lot to fire a carrier. Despite our complaints and our documentation, it took opening an investigation at the regional level before anything was done.
And, yes, the USPS might be facing financial challenges. But, consumers have to deal with skyrocketing postage rates. Is it “silly” to ask for accountability in return?
There are good and bad aplles—- I had a mailman who was the BEST in all the world. He knew I would enter sweepstakes so if he found any in the newspaper or in the stores he would leave them in my mailbox. He also knew the lady I used to watch my child lived 3 blocks away , and one day my child wrote a letter to her and put pennies and pretty rocks in it and put it in the mailbox and just put Mamaw on the envelope …. Would you know he delivered it to her. No stamp no address no nothing… I Think that is a super person. Hes retired but I still see him around town and always say hi and such.
I ordered a free sample of Rachael Ray’s new dog food becuase my dog has sensitive skin and I wanted to make sure it would not irritate him or his allergies. The box was delivered to my home, with a picture of what it contained. Thinking it felt rather light, I noticed the thin piece of tape that was holding the box closed had been ripped and the dog food was stolen. Is this worthy of being reported? It was free, but I am still very upset that someone was so dishonest.
Emily…You have two options. For one you can contact the people at Rachael Ray’s Nutrish and let them know what happened. Even though they are not responsible for replacing it they will most likely send you another one. If the same thing happens again (or you might do it anyway) call your local post office and make a complaint or go online and fill out the complaint form. Where some people might think that free samples are “silly”, you are entitled to what is yours. Tampering with someones mail is a federal offense and for someone to completely take a sample is theft and it should be reported. It is sad that people do the things that they do. I am sorry that this happened to you.
It is so lazy on people’s part to blame the mail man or woman for everything they do not receive when that sample first of all gets sent from a dock from the company to the mail processing plant in that area and if it is 3rd or 4th class mail can sit in a semi truck trailer up to 4-6 weeks because the processing plant does not have time to process it then could go on to the city it is supposed to be delivering it to and sit there another few weeks. There has been several mail people laid mail processing plants are closed moving people and mail to other parts of the country. The post office is laying off over 50,000 people out of 250,000 total approximately however they are not laying off their lazy micro managers but clerks 1/2 in our city laid off, 7 post offices closing which will slow down the mail not even counting November and December Christmas crunch. We do not want or need to steal your stuff and the postal inspectors watch the postal workers like a hawk and it could be a mail clerk in the back of the post office who does not get supervised very well that could take samples do not be so quick to point fingers at the mail carrier who walks 7-12 miles a day carrying 20-50 pounds on their back…that is just another reason why your mail man or lady don’t smile they are in pain plus people falsely accusing them for suspensions of someone lazy not researching the problem with the company. I heard so many businesses saying they sent something out and come to find out still sitting on the dock or desk at the original shipper company but it is just easy to say the postman did it! ****
so here are the facts,
delivering the mail is someones job, they chose that job and knew what it entailed when they took the job.
fact, some people are dishonest whether they deliver mail or not.
if someone has a legitimate concern about the delivery of their mail they have every right to have it looked into without fear of retailition or humiliation by those who provide the service. we don’t think twice about returning a piece of clothing that rips on us after one use. if you don’t have anything to hide then so be it. maybe postal people who are concerned about their reputation should make a note of packages their are delivering that look tapered with before they give it to people so that if there is a question raised they you have nothing to worry about.
otherwise it is unfair to make people feel bad for reporting mail concerns.
How do I add this to my RSS reader? Sorry I’m a newbie
I’m a mailman. I make $65,000 a year. I have no REASON to steal your stinkin’ samples. Since I work in this industry I know there are simple explanations for a lot of these ridiculous complaints. You people have too much time on your hands. Get a job. If you don’t want to get a job, VOLUNTEER somewhere. This country has been damn good to you. Give something back.
Dan- Congratulation on your success as a Mailman. We aren’t just talking free samples here coming up missing….we rely on the USPS to bring us our mail….we have no other choice. If a person has right to believe their mail is being tampered with (free samples, magazines…ANYTHING in our mail)…they have every right to make a complaint…after all it is a FEDERAL OFFENSE. If you read my post again you’ll see where I say, it could be a mail sorter, it could be a neighbor…it could be anything. BUT if you aren’t receiving something you know you should be….you have every right to know what the proper steps are to take.
ALSO- I’ll have you know that alot of my readers DONATE alot of their things, as do I, that we get “free”. I appreciate your comment, however I do not appreciate the rudeness behind it. I promote POSITIVE comments here on my blog.
Thank you for understanding.
Thanks to do this post. It it that useful for me.
THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR YOUR SITE!!
I have a lengthy problem with the USPS. 1st of all, when I was a teenager in Meadows of Dan Va, the carrier there was awesome! I moved to a more city like area and noticed alot of problems. I live past a state maintained road. There has been alot of vandalism in my neighborhood. I called and asked the Post Master if I could set a mailbox up at my driveway so I could keep tabs on my mail, he told me that the only way he would even think of sending a mail truck to my home would be if I paved the gravel road that leads to my home. My driveway is less than 100 feet from the state road, it is smooth and I put gravel down quite often. I checked on how much it would be to get it paved, $8,000 dollars! I dont have that kind of money. I noticed that the mailman delivers to two neighbors’ houses up the road, they are past of state maintaince, BUT they live in houses, I live in a mobile home. Im on a private lot, not a park. I feel as tho I am being discriminated against because of the house I live in. The next thing, I order from ebay, I bought a item that was supposed to go thru UPS, instead the seller did a bait and switch, and sent it thru USPS. This carrier has a habit of leaving my parcels on the ground or using the lid of my box as a table with the item laying there in the open for it to be rained/snowed on or stolen. I wrote a note, and I was nice, I simply asked him to please leave a notice for me to pick up my parcels at the post office so that they wont get stolen, what does he do? When my item came, he hammered it in my box using the mailbox lid and breaking the lid off the hinges! What should I do about that? His supervisior, the Post Master I mentioned before, hates me. Another thing, I bought 3 magazines in December, I have only received 3 magazines so far and it is March. I got one in December, one in January, and one in Feb. My subscription is good until December of 2010. I dont get any samples, forget that, altho I have signed up for hundreds of them. Please someone tell me what to do about this! Also, I have a Post Office Box for my really personal mail. Most of my mail is ripped or opened, I am missing a subscription there too. The staff are not friendly at all. Who does these people answer to?
I always get all my freebies on Monday and I am wondering if there is a reason for this?
I’m having serious problems with my post office and don’t know if it’s my mail carrier or someone else at the post office. I wish it was free samples not showing up and “disappearing” into thin air, but unfortunatly it’s my unemployment checks. That’s right checkS-plural. This is the 2nd time I have had the same exact problem. I have been on unemployment for about a year and it always comes on the same day. The 2 times it didn’t come on Tuesday, it just never showed up period. The first time my check didn’t show up, I had a personal problem with my mail man. (He just so happens to be dating a family member and when I went to their house, he said something that offended me and I stopped talking to the both of them for a while).It was kind of weird that my check didn’t show up right after I had this problem and then after my check didn’t show up, my mail man (once again, who dates a member of my family)switched his routes. Now I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions so I di contact unemployment first and found out there was no problems there and there are even ways to track your check to see what the status is and it had been sent as normal. Turns out when unemployment investigated this matter they found out it was never cashed but couldn’t figure out why it was not delivered to me because it was “definatly sent out”.It took a month for them to send me a new one. Now months later, my unemployment check has not showed up once again.It just so happens that anoter incident has occured with the same man. (There was a fight between my family member and this man and it involved me). This incident occured about one week before my check was a no show. I checked with unemployment and once again, there is no problems on their end and I checked the status and it has been sent out on time. Tomm is Friday and if my check does not show (I assume it will not bc it never comes late unless it’s a holliday)I plan on making a trip to the post office. Now this man who I have problems with is a mail man but he is not mine anymore. I assume that it is possible for him to have contact with my mail. It is also possible that my mail man misplaced it and someone else got my mail and didn’t return it. But how does this happen twice to my checks??? It never happens with any of my other mail?? How should I go about this?? Am I crazy for thinking this ma I have problems with, may be taking my check out of spite??I have a 3yr old chil to support and this just so happens to be the week my rent and bills are all due and the Holliday weekend is coming up and I now have no money to spend to go out for he holliday!! This is sad if it’s someone who knows I have a child doing this intentionally and if it is him doing this he SHOULD be held responsibe for his actions!!!
It sounds very fishy. If you have contacted your unemployment office and the checks are being sent when they are supposed to be, I suggest filling out the complaint forms listed in the post to see where exactly the problem is. Even if the problem ISNT the mailman, they should be able to open an investigation to see where the problem lies. I don’t know if this is possible BUT, until this is figured out I might suggest seeing if you can get that check directly deposited into your bank account. =) I hope this insight helps.
my problem isnt losing freebies, its money!!…….and gift cards and money orders…….and its been happening for almost a year…….as much money as ive lost i dont feel i should have to pay more for a p.o. box just cuase someone else is a thief……i was told i should ask him about it first but i think then he would only see he was caught, then he would stop and get away with all hes done…..i dont know what to do. hes such a nice guy.
It could be happening before it even gets to your mailman. There are many people that handle the mail before your actual delivery man get is. It could be someone in the mail sorting room, etc. If you are positive that you are missing items, I highly suggest reporting it to your local post office.
My freebies always come on the same two days every month and one day I went outside and realized it is a different maillady on those days this has been going on for nine months and I have reported it once and it did not help .I am almost afraid to report again for fear of retaliation .They want too much documentation to get a PO box and besides I can not afford five bucks a month just for some missing freebies .
This is very interesting…I’ve never had any problem with my items, but this is good to know…Thank you for Re-posting this
I moved to a small village where everyone knows everyone else and we have a very small post office. My mail was damaged and opened so frequently I commented to my husband that I had never seen so much damaged mail as I have been getting since moving here. I asked the lady at the post office about it and she brushed it off as the machines messing up. I once received just the cover of a magazine in the mail, the magazine itself was missing! It has only happened a couple of times since I asked about it. It has caused me to cut back on ordering free samples. I am in the process of moving so I hope this changes.
Odd you posted this again. Lately I’ve noticed a drastic decline in the freebies in my mail. I also send my mom and grandma freebies and they have gotten a lot of the freebies that seem to be MIA from my mailbox. Plus here as of lately A LOT of my mail has been severely damaged. It’s upsetting to think that things like this do happen, but unless I know for a fact that something fishy is going on I won’t report anything. It really stinks when you’re looking forward to getting something in the mail and it never shows. I figure if it was free in the first place and some how didn’t make it to me I’ll play the waiting game to see if it shows up. Plus I have a funky address and was blaming it on that for a while, but if my bills can make it to me fine and on time lol why can’t my freebies seem to make it to me?
I request and receive lots of samples, if they are too big for my mailbox my mail carrier leaves them by my apartment door. Thankfully I haven’t had any problems with theft, but recently I received a damaged box for a Special K protien bar sample with a rubberband around it, when I removed the rubber band and opened the box there was no sample! I assume the package was damaged and the bar fell out before it arrived at my door. I wrote an e-mail to the company to let them know about the problem I experienced and they sent a replacement sample by first class mail. If you have an occasional issue with a damaged or missing sample why not contact the company who sent it and let them know? They will likely send another sample.
I come from a family of Postal Carriers and a Post Master…seriously people get a freaking grip! Mail travels from all over the place right to your door. There will be problems with the delivery just like with anything else in life period. Heck, they just hire off of the street at extremely low pay in today’s world…the higher paying carrier jobs are almost a thing of the past. You have no clue what kind of pressure our letter carriers are constantly under at all. They are always having big brother looking right over their shoulder. Bite your tongues when you have not one ounce of a clue of how hard they work. I am sure without a shadow of a doubt there are crooked letter carrier just like cops, priests, teachers, lawyers, governors, presidents…you name it. However to put all letter carriers in one group is tasteless and completely ignorant!
Karen, I have not put mail carriers in one group! I agree…they have a hard job, I certainly couldn’t want to do it. I’m not out to be against the USPS at all! I’m not saying it’s my mail carrier specifically. Mail goes thru A LOT of different hands before it even gets to my post office. BUT, I (along with YOU and every one else) have every right to file a complaint when my mail is being damaged and tampered with on a regular basis. A good Postal worker would tell you the same thing!
I also did not write this post to cause any drama!!! I am letting my readers now what they can do if they have problems with their mail delivery. I also promote positive comments on my site and I would appreciate you voicing your opinion in a friendlier manner.
Renee, you can absolutely do that and I recommend it. =)
My problem isn’t just random mail every now and then showing up damaged though. Something is going on with it and it started a few months ago. It’s happening on a regular basis now. I filed a complaint and I hope they can help me stop the problem. I’m not blaming my mail carrier necessarily, I care for her a great deal, she’s a very sweet lady. The problem goes beyond her.
Brandie, I got your point. I believe I get most of my samples and mail. I did not take this post as “everyone get your mail carrier fired.” If the negative commenters would read all of it they would know. It is just some helpful info. Info you can walk into the post office and get yourself. My only problem is the people that used to live here haven’t forwarded their mail and even though we have told him not to deliver it, he still does. Oh well. I will continue sending it back to the sender!
I too have loads of trouble with my mail carrier. I know for a fact that a lot of the trouble is my carrier. For example, one day I received mail for 5 different people and 5 different addresses in my mailbox. I regularly get other people’s mail including bank statement, credit card statements, etc. I always make a point of putting them back in the post office the same day but what about the people who are getting my mail.? I have switched to paying most bills online because my payments wouldn’t reach the companies sometimes for as long as two weeks. Sadly I am not getting my mail. Samples have not been arriving. Magazines and other mail arrives torn. I subscribed to Netflix for a while. When I would take my dvd to a different post office it always arrived at Netlflix the next day. However if I mailed it from my post office it might arrive in 3 or 4 days. The post office I would take it to is the same one that is supposed to receive the mail from my post office and forward it the same day so I know someone just wasn’t putting my dvd in with the mail. Maybe they wanted to watch it before returning it. I subscribed to the local weekly paper for a while. It was always mailed on the same day. Occasionally I would received it when I should. Most times it was 3 0r 4 days late. I quit subscribing to the paper. I know there are some good mail carriers. The carrier I had previously was great. However there are some very bad ones too. To say that you shouldn’t complain when the service is routinely terrible makes no sense to me. As you can see poor service results in less use of the postal service and of course eventual cutbacks. Whatever our job we work hard and if we do not do our job someone will rightly complain. Postal workers should not be exempt.
So this is kinda off-topic, but I didn’t know where else to reply to Emily’s post re: Rachael Ray’s dog food for pet with sensitive skin. Curious if she ever received a sample & if it worked.
Had coupon for free 6lb. bag of RR “natural” dog food, thought if it worked it’d save us a lot. Had girls (Shih Tzus) on Royal Canin, a life-saver! Went from scratching so much they’d wake me EVERY night, to it being very rare event. Not even a week into RR’s, miserable scratching returned. Husband was admitted into hospital & couldn’t get to PetSmart for another week. In two weeks time, our babies went from fine to 24/7 agony! After a week back on Royal C. scratching ceased!
Here’s the deal: if your pet’s food has color it was ADDED, not one ingredient contains color- manufacturers add color for consumers. What makes Royal C. so awesome is that it’s breed specific (offer food for many breeds, cats too) even down to shape of the food. Shih Tzus’ jaws are uniquely shaped- can’t chew larger pieces sufficient enough for proper digestion. Royal C. also addresses allergy/skin issues that S.T’s are prone to (we don’t want our babies constantly injected w/ cortisone) also provide extra omegas since S.T’s are less active. I am in no way affiliated w/ Royal C.! It’s just that I’ve witnessed the life-changing difference in our girls. Wish it had been around back in the day, my parents had to put one of our Shih Tzus to sleep b/c her weekly allergy shots stopped working, she was truly suffering.
So Emily, if RR isn’t right for your dog, give RC a try (I don’t recommend Science Diet…there IS a difference!) the price is higher but it’s worth every penny :0)
{I’ve been wondering about my mail too}
Brandie, I completely understand what you mean by this post. It is simply a way to let those facing a possible theft situation attempt to have the problem resolved. I have a great mail-woman, but I understand that not all postal workers (not just mail carriers) nor the company employees are going to be honest, trustworthy people. It does bother me to see some get so defensive and hostile over letting people know what actions to take, as the post office itself will inform you. I’m sure if these postal workers that commented went to a restaurant and someone (possibly the waiter, cook, whomever) had their fingers in their food where they didn’t belong they would expect to be able to file a complaint. I don’t understand why they are against people filing complaints against the USPS. It’s called quality control-complaints alert to problems, which in turn lead to resolutions (hopefully). Same thing with a bank. If those that thing the USPS should be left alone went to their bank and some of their money was missing I’m sure they would be upset and want to catch those responsible. There is no reason for the demeaning of others on this site. You may consider samples/freebies “silly” but you have no clue why people are taking part. Yes, some may simply want stuff for free, but others will donate to shelters or churches. Some may not have funds right now in this economic time, so they may be planning on using the freebies to make gift baskets for B’days/X’mas, or rely on the coupons that usually accompany freebies/samples. You guys should be grateful for your job-you worry a complaint will get you fired, but if you are an honest employee with no other problems then you shouldn’t have to worry. And many of the people you talk down about wanting these freebies, that endanger your job have already lost theirs. I have 2 degrees and I cannot find work, there are no openings. I have applied for part-time jobs and they won’t give me an interview because I am “over qualified.” These freebies and samples and coupons are of great value to me, my husband and my single mother sister who I also give them too whether they are to you guys or not. Please do not look down on others and do not tell us it is NOT okay to file a formal complaint when there is a PROBLEM!
Thanks for the great post i’ve been having issues too with my post office, 5 times my bank which is right next door called there branch office and had my bank card sent to my p.o. box thinking it was just a loss in the mail i had it sent somewhere else monitored by the same post office at the 5th time i went into my local post office and talked to the head post master and told her if i do not get my bank card not only will i be turning her and her staff in for mail theft but i will also be filing charges myself against each and every worker in that post office until all 5 cards reappear since they all had tracking numbers on them and were never found. my bank also desided to activate all the missing cards on a account that is used when they find out someone has stolen a credit card or bank account card. needless to say only one of my bank cards appeared. and none of the others were used. If your in new jersey be warned all mail goes threw the newark post office and they do not take care of how they handle mail. They need a better system for there mail. so make sure you send or recieve your mail with a tracking number, if it’s samples they take 4-6 weeks to get to you sometimes as long as 10 weeks depending on the company. if you havent recieved anything from the companies you requested samples from make sure you take the time to email or call them, always keep there emails handy to see if they sent it out, it they have remember it takes 4 days from being sent in the united states to get to where it is going, sometimes 7 at the most. over sea’s takes longer because of the ports sometimes that is 10 to 15 days. if you havent recieved anything at the end of that time ask the company to put a tracker on the next sample or contact you’re main post office in your area everyone has one and explain to them what company you were expecting samples from and it never got to you and you would like to know why. Before you submit a report. just remember the main branch does have a help desk and security that monitors things talking with them is always a big help.
update, my post master the had of my post office sent a complaint for me about my missing cards, however they have yet to be found. The post master herself went to each employee of her branch and told them to search the place. and that if anyone was caught with the letter and has the card they will be fired. the complaint she sent down to the main branch stated that 5 bank cards addressed to me to two different p.o. boxes and one residence was never recieved and that there is an internal investigation ongoing in her branch as to where they went and why they never reached any location listed with my bank, needless to say if you dont get your mail talk to your post master ask her or him to file the complaint you dont have to mention your carriers name, they just deliver the mail “as is” however if the mail doesnt get put in that carriers hands you wont get it. now i am not saying that all carriers are angels and i am not saying all carriers arent, but if you have any doubt in your mind contact your local post office. not even p.o. boxes are safe just so you know. It’s been since last year i ordered my bank cards, the bank and postal service is working now hand in hand to find out where the cards could have gone. no ones heard anything and everything seems to be in order. so i dont know anymore than either of them do. but i hope someday one of them will find out. and who ever or what ever is involved gets there just deserts. I however am still with both and every christmas regardless of this( i dont even know what to call it anymore) thing happening send out baskets to the bank and my local post office as well as bringing in samples i buy online for them all to have. sometimes it’s worth talking to the head post master and giving them an idea of what’s going on. there always there to help.
In the past 5 yrs or so, my mailman has opened my mail -sometimes he retapes it other times not. I recieved billing statements a week after payment is due (so they must be sitting somewhere) and now all my credit card statements are open! I stay home so I go get the mail the minutes he goes around the corner in his truck! Im actually scared off him because I heard he was caught doing this before and they let him go and changed his route (to mine)! He seems kind of psychotic!
Brandie, you have kept your cool in this post better than I ever could have! You have stated over and over and over that you do not, and others should not blame the mail carriers, that it could be a neighbor or someone in a sort facility or anything really. Yet people keep jumping down your throat for blaming mail carriers!!
Congrats on keeping your cool, I would have lost it by now!
And thanks for the post, I like knowing what options are out there if a problem ever does come up.
I couldn’t have found this post at a better time.
I have signed my mother and sister-in-law up for several freebies at the same time I sign up for them myself. My mother and SIL share the same post office. Neither one has received any of the packages, while my mailbox is always full. My mother has filed a complaint, but it went directly to their local branch and she received a very unfriendly phone call from the Postmaster that said that she should just contact the companies that are sending the stuff. It wasn’t her problem. The local weekly advertiser stopped coming to their houses too and when my mom called the newspaper company she was informed that they had stopped home deliveries of the paper because they felt that it wasn’t being delivered in that area.
Knowing that they complaint got my mother nowhere, but a confrontation with the postmaster and will likely end in retaliation from either her or my mother’s carrier who has had the same attitude when my mom has talked to her, it’s great that I stumbled upon this to find out our next step. Thank you for this.
To those of you who work at the post office claiming innocence, thats fine. There are always good people and bad people. Just like people who think all cops are good people. Its just imposible, for every good 2 good cops, there is one bad cop. Of course, there are plenty of good postal workers, but when it is so tempting to take packages that seem valuable or nice, what stops the people who are on the verge of being a bad person. We cant catch postal workers red handed, so all they have to do is steal it and claim they never saw a thing. How else can you explain multiple packages with tracking, that show delivery to an address yet nothing ever shows up and they have no explination for where it is. Mail doesnt disapear, i mean, it has two addresses on it, it should at least make its way back to one of them. I have never had any problem with any carrier besides USPS. The other companies track things more carefully, and hold their carriers responsible because the packages can be traced to their hands. Even when a package can be traced to the hands of a USPS deliverer as the last person to see it, they do nothing about it. I worked at a bank, believe me, i saw people tempted to steal that were good people. One guy i worked with litterally stole hundreds of dollars of the course of several days. Obviously the can trace the money to him, but they cant prove he stole it, and they ended up letting him go. He faced no charges. Whats to stop postal workers from stealing from helpless people who dont know where their packages are. Deliverers ride solo in their vehicles, dont have cameras watching them, there is no way to prove its them, so whats to keep them from stealing. The worst that could happen as long as they dont get caught with mail in the hands is getting fired. Trust me, plenty of people dont mind getting fired for money or gifts. They know all they have to do is throw away or burn the package wrappers and they are in the clear. You may say, well the post office is secure and they cant leave with anything, and go through security. Well guess what, they are alone all day in a little mail vehicle. Whats to stop them from dumping the packages in a vehicle, house, or with a friend close by, that way they never get caught with mail in their hands. ITs crazy to think all postal workers are nice people and would never do such a thing. You may be nice and good. People who steal dont have a certain look about them, many of them are normal and happy. Actually, the people who steal usually appear happier and normal, i mean afterall, they are constantly getting goodies, why wouldnt they be happier. To anyone who posted and works for USPS and begs for mercy because it simply cant be people stealing our mail because you and your coworkers are good people, open your damn eyes. Not everyone cares about getting mail to people, certain people care about making themselves happier(stealing goodies and certain packages). To the postal worker who said that he works with good people and no one would ever do that that he works with, and that yall work in harsh weather conditions, and face angry people on a daily basis, get real. Millions of people work outdoors year round, and millions upon millions of people face angry people all day because of sales and customer service jobs. Boo hoo. You may not be stealing but some people are. How else can you explain the post above me where a company actually stopped delivering because people werent getting their items, yet other areas were. People steal, and if you think the postal worker is stealing, you shoulddo everything you can to get to the bottom of it. With this day and age, the vehicles should have cameras in the cab and rear of the truck so if a package is lost when it claims delivery, you can see if your mailman treated himself to a gift.
Dear Freebie Comrades,
I keep an excel spreadsheet of every freebie sample I request. I record the date I ordered it, what exactly I ordered, a link to the site and keep a column open for when it arrives. Obviously,when it arrives, I record the date.
Its amazing how many samples either don’t arrive or I receive an e-mail stating that “due to overwhelming response, we can’t offer you a free sample, but here is a code for 20% (or what ever percent off/free shipping/etc.) your next order.
Although its a bit time intensive, its a great way to track your freebies.
Happy freebie hunting!
Anne
I had a problem with my mail this past month. Three times my mailed was tampered with and what makes it sad is that the tampered mail was inside my mailbox. I contacted the USPS website twice and called once to complain about this thinking that my mail carrier or the mail facility is doing this. So there is a investigation going on now and then on Wednesday my mail carrier knocked on my door to introduce himself and wanted to know what is going on. He also told me that he was a postal worker for 25 yrs and he is about to retire soon and he doesn’t need to be investigated. He also mentioned that he is working with the investigators to find out who is tampering with my mail. All in all, I just hope that this situation will end and that no one will get into serious trouble.
the impression i’m getting from everyone’s comments, is the culture of some postal office branches are the martha stewart version of the police’s code to watch each other’s back – esp when foul things go down?!
and dan,
c’mon son, aren’t you making too many comfortably patriotic american dollars, to spend so much of your precious free time on “ridiculous” issues that matter gravely to others more than to your righteous self? god forbid we all gotta pull out proofs of our veteran status IDs – or those of our wounded/dead daddies’, brothers’ and uncles’, just to justify demanding proper mail delivery services guaranteed by law – but abused by fallible, greedy, bored, arrogant human beings who happen to land the holy grail position of a postal worker they don’t deserve as much yourself?
these are exasperated americans in exasperating times counting on smooth mail delivery that impacts their everyday lives. mail delivery as 1 of the things that should not go down like most of the economy. regardless of how lowly you regard their existence relative to your own, they pay loans, rents, utilities, and TAXES which fund your livelihood – and getting their everyday good ol’ mail delivered is an inalienable right due to every american citizen. get off that high horse already.
It is high time people take responsibility for their actions. I was called out of town on a famiy emergency. I came home and a note was in my mailbox that it was full and to pick up my mail at the post office. I
go to the post office and there is no sign of my mail and no one knows anything about it. Stupid supervisor says he will look into it and will call me back….not Called again….supervisor said he would look into it and call me back…..not. This is a federal offense and I am not going to rest until these thiefs are held responsible. I will have all of them investigated…..and if they lose their jobs so be it!!!!!
I can’t believe how many people, especially USPS workers, here are defending acts that may be criminal, especially commenter Dan here who apparently believes everyone who complains about their mail/free samples missing is jobless. We all have a right to be worried about our mail no matter how significant the items are. It’s not the mail carrier’s person to judge how important my items are. If you went to the supermarket and found out they had but simply didnt stock up on your favorite junk food item several times in a row, you would complain, right? You wouldn’t want the supermarket cashier judging how important those cookies were to you? Well, the same goes for mail. And I can guarantee you that the majority of USPS workers would also recommend that you file a complaint if you suspected mail tampering.
Yes, we get that accidents happen, things get lost. We also get that you are overworked, as are many businesses nowadays (and guess what, it would be no more or less acceptable for those businesses either). No one here is suggesting that you should call and complain at the first sign of something missing. It’s pretty obvious from the original author’s post that this article was written for the individuals who have a pattern of mail missing/tampered with in a short period of time. And for all you know, it may be free samples to one person, but the same person might be stealing “more important” mail from somewhere else. This article was obviously written with intentions to help the people who have something to suspect.
For example, I’m here because in the past week (Christmas) I have received 8 or 9 different cards, all which have the appearance of being open to the point where you can see the contents inside. This last one, the entire back seal has been completely torn off and the card exposed. Now, I understand that mail goes through a long sorting process and items may get ripped, but I fail to believe that EVERY single card I have gotten this past week could have been handled in a manner that exposes the mail inside (and if it has been that way, then I should be filing a complaint anyways because the mail service obviously needs to be safer with mail at that point). I just filed my complaint today thanks to this site. No, I don’t blame my mail lady because she isn’t the only person who touches my mail, but I do believe that somewhere at my post office there is a problem.
Glad I stumbled onto you! Now I don’t feel so crazy… So my story is this: I ordered a bottle of perfume on Jan 23 ’12. Sent priority mail, should’ve been here Tuesday (Jan 31) at the latest. No sign of it (this is Friday) and unfortunately the seller hasn’t gotten back to me with tracking info yet.
Doesn’t sound like a big deal, right? Could be late, any number of innocent things. Problem is, the lady delivering the mail on the very days I expected this package is NOT my regular carrier. The usual guy is just great–I’ve known him for years and I consider him a friend. Unfortunately, he suffered a back injury last year, so he’s off fairly frequently. And the lady who subs for him… Well, let me elaborate.
At the end of last October, I had a package coming. I tracked it daily till it said, “out for delivery” Friday afternoon. I knew it was coming, so I told the kids to watch for it, and I was looking out the door every 10 minutes (I was really excited for this package, yes!). So it’s getting dark, no one comes to the door–I get back on the USPS site to track. Lo and behold, it says the package was DELIVERED about an hour ago! What??? So I run out to the box, sure enough there are letters– no package! Saturday, I wait for the mail outside all day. She comes along, puts my letters in the box and starts to drive away. I run down to the street and catch her, ask nicely, oh do you have a package for me? Oh yes, she does, right in the back! She goes to get it, the whole time babbling about how she was going to bring it back after she’d delivered all the other mail and it was such a madhouse in that little truck and so on. My question is: why had she marked it as “delivered” in the system the day before? It had to be her–who else would be able to do that?
I had sent an email through the USPS website explaining what’d happened. All I got back in response was a canned letter informing me they had received my complaint. Since I did get the package, I didn’t pursue the matter any further. Now I’m sorry I didn’t, because of the problem I’m having this week. Reading others’ posts, I’m starting to get more suspicious. Oddly enough, I also order tons of samples. In the past few months, exactly two of them have arrived. Problem is, I didn’t make any lists of them. I will be from now on.
The last thing I want to do is unjustly accuse someone. But twice in 3 months, same lady, her weird, breathless demeanor…plus the fact that I caught her red-handed falsifying the delivery time? I think we have a problem here! I’m waiting out front this whole afternoon, so we’ll see if my perfume just happens to “turn up!”
I have recently lost my mail. I ordered an $80 item from ebay and I’ve never recieved it. I talked with my seller and my local post office. I even sent an online complaint. I think that my local post office made a mistake because I already contacted my seller and he said that I did have down the correct address and my mailbox is a locking one so no one could have stole it. What should I do if I don’t recieve my item even after going through these step. Does my $80 just go to waste.
I have been self employed for the past 7 years and I receive payment via checks on a weekly basis. My new mailman must not like this for some reason and I noticed checks were taking longer and longer to arrive and then twice they were returned to the sender. My mailman has always had a poor attitude with me and I think he likes delaying my payments when he could. I switched to a P.O. Box and the checks arrive like clockwork with in 3-4 days from when they were post dated as apposed to the 5-7 days when they were coming to my box at my apartment. Some mailmen (especially the older ones) have chips on their shoulders. Do your job and stay out of peoples business!
Free sample or not, the mailman does not have the rights to steal what doesn’t belong to them and if people claim they are receiving opened mail or have been missin deliveries for awhile then they have the rights to complain, the situation better be investigated and the mailman whose stealing should rightfully get fired. No matter how hard your work conditions are, pay etc, you were hired to deliver us our mail in ONE piece.
What do you expect from a Federal Employee! They are doing us a favor RIGHT? So you pay their salary then they steal your free granola bar.