Chicago woman says mail problems resumed after complaint about package delivery
A Chicago woman who captured video of her mail carrier hurling packages over her fence said her mail troubles have resumed after a period of calm.
Nicole Mildner's doorbell camera captured her mail carrier throwing packages onto the front lawn of her Canaryiville home instead of bringing them to her door. She shared video going back to 2023 and 2024 with CBS News Chicago showing the incidents.
The United States Postal Service said if a package doesn't fit in a mailbox, the carrier is supposed to knock on the door and hand the package to the recipient.
After the story aired in February, she said things got better for a time.
"It was normal mail service as usual. There was a point I met him outside, he had a package and he handed it to me. Everything was fine. It was civil," Mildner said.
But as of Wednesday, she said her mail hadn't been delivered for three days. While we were at her home, a fill-in mail carrier arrived and not only rang the doorbell after leaving a package at the front door but delivered nine pieces of mail.
Mildner had been checking her mailbox daily for two very important deliveries: Real IDs for her and her mother. They were mailed out on Feb. 22, nearly four weeks ago.
And this past Saturday, she captured another incident with her regular mail carrier on video.
Mildner said tenants in her home moved and she keeps getting their mail. She neatly stacked everything into a pile and bound it with a rubber band, placing it in her mailbox for the mail carrier to take with him and return to sender.
Video shows the mail carrier taking it and throwing it to the ground.
"He just opens the mailbox, let the mail fall to the ground and doesn't take it with him and my mom did approach him and said, 'Hey, you left the mail on the ground,' and his response was to just throw it away because he doesn't know who that is," she said. "I don't think that's correct. I don't want to be throwing anybody's mail away."
USPS will forward your mail for one year once you move, and a spokesperson said any mail not for the current resident at an address should be taken back by the letter carrier, which is exactly what the other fill-in mail carrier did when Mildner put the letter back at her mailbox.
Regarding the undelivered mail, the USPS spokesperson said the agency wants to address any specific issue brought to their attention, and encouraged customers to contact them through their website and official social media accounts.
Full statement from USPS
Standard mail forwarding lasts 12 months. When your mail forwarding period ends, USPS will return the mail to the sender for 6 months with a label that has the new address. Any mail not for the current resident at the address should be taken back by the letter carrier.
In regard to any undelivered mail, we gladly work to address any specific issue from the community when brought to our attention and we encourage customers to go to our website usps.com and click on "Contact us" at the bottom of our homepage, or utilize this direct web address: https://usps.force.com/emailus/s/. Every email will be carefully documented, and appropriate action taken to strengthen service.
In addition, the official X account of the United States Postal Service, managed by the Social Media staff at USPS HQ, can provide help. For customer service, please post @USPSHelp. Customers can also private message on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/USPS. The Postal Service will diligently continue to investigate customer's concerns and correct deficiencies to improve service to our communities.
