'It's Really Frustrating' USPS Mail Delivery Issues Remain Throughout Baltimore
DUNDALK, Md. (WJZ) -- The lack of mail service has been an ongoing problem for many for over a year now.
"It's really frustrating, bills are late because we're not even receiving them. I just don't know what to do at this point," said Brittne Bryan, Dundalk resident.
Some Dundalk residents said they are just now receiving their mail postmarked in April and have now resorted to making daily trips to the post office to see what's the hold-up.
"I'm getting the informed delivery. So it's showing me pictures of what I'm supposed to receive every day and even when I come to pick it up, I'm still not getting that mail. So, where's that mail?" said Bryan.
USPS blames the delays on the pandemic and staffing shortages. In response, the agency is authorizing more overtime, expanding delivery, using additional carriers from local offices and hiring employees. However, people said they're not seeing any improvement.
"We talked to a postal worker, we said 'Hey, is anybody delivering mail in Edgemere?' She said, 'No, you guys don't even have a driver," said Gregory Williamson, Dundalk resident.
Last month, Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger reached out to the Postmaster General requesting a meeting with top postal officials, along with an audit of several Baltimore-area post offices.
In a statement Friday, Ruppersberger said he received a response on behalf of Postmaster General Dejoy:
"We received a response from a government relations representative on behalf of Postmaster General DeJoy that was wholly inadequate. It did not respond to my request for a high-level meeting nor did it include a single data point that was requested. Instead, we received a litany of excuses, finger-pointing and faulty logic that fail to explain why there is such disparity of service levels across the country and even within our own state and counties. If this was all Congress' and COVID's fault - as Postmaster General DeJoy would have us believe - we would be getting complaints from every post office. That is simply not the case. Moreover, issues in our local communities clearly pre-date the pandemic.
"It is my hope that the Inspector General of the USPS will heed my request for an audit of several Baltimore-area post offices to determine how things got so bad and - more importantly - restore mail delivery to the level my constituents deserve," said Ruppersberger.
Ruppersberger said he believes the issues he's seen in Dundalk go beyond COVID-19 and has put in a request to the postmaster general to provide data on weekly overtime, vacant routes and staffing levels.
