USPS messing with deliveries.

Self | 10/9/2013 | Self - Rant

[Whats-wrong-with-the-truth]

Hello. If you all haven't noticed how the obomba led government shutdown is affecting your postal service hopefully I will be able to open your eyes.

On a topic that I have yet to see anything written about my wife and I have noticed that the USPS is now, more than ever, losing mail, taking two to three times as long to deliver the mail and when they do deliver the mail they are tacking on a COD charge to the recipient. My wife and I run a couple of online business where we have to send lots of mail out each day. Letters and parcels that used to, for example, take one stamp are now costing over $2.00 and our customers are getting pissed off about it. When we call our local area post office they say that they don't know anything about it and when we either drop off the mail to the post office or the letter carrier picks up the mail they don't see anything wrong or else they would say something. Yet it's taking forever for our mail to get to where it is going and when it gets there many times the postal services in those areas are charging extra.

This crap has got to stop. I am all for defunding the US Postal Service and either, preferably, returning the money used by the postal service to those of us that pay the taxes to keep that dysfunctional agency afloat or use the money to subsidize private postal carriers like FedEx or UPS. Of course this will never happen as the Department of Homeland Security relies heavily upon the US postal service and it intelligence gathering efforts.

[Colonel Kangaroo]

The politics of postal workers tend to reflect the area they are located. And the USPS is largest employer of military veterans.

[Fledermaus]

No change here either. I’m still getting tons of junk I throw away.

[Vendome]

Forgot.

I rarely use the mail any more.

[Gene Eric]

That’s right.

Of all the govt agencies to complain about, I’d put USPS on the bottom of the list.

[Vendome]

Thought about that but, the story is weirdly odd.

[cripplecreek]

My experiences is that when you’re out in the country with a small post office and you know the people personally, then they don’t play these games with you.

We could only be so lucky if the postal service nationwide ran as well as my 160 box PO does. We've got 1 full time person who works there at the office and a single rural route driver who delivers for 3 different post offices.

The real waste in POs like mine are in the distribution system from the big sorting facilities. They've got one small straight truck making several trips to the various post offices in my area. In the morning they make one trip to the biggest PO, then a second trip to a couple of smaller offices, then finally a 3rd trip to mine and one other post office. In the evening they do it all over again. Mail doesn't eve arrive at my post office till 9 AM.

I agitated the hell out of the driver once by suggesting that maybe a bigger truck would be more efficient. He basically told me that he needs to make multiple trips or he wouldn't make any money.

Last winter we had a meeting with our congressman about our post office and there were representatives from FedEx and UPS there. Both company reps said their companies don't want anything to do with door to door or rural route delivery but delivery to individual post offices might be effective. Around here, UPS and FedEx deliver most packages to the post office now. I assume she does it for everyone but my postmistress calls me to tell me I've got packages.

[CatherineofAragon]

True. And yes, I agree they are probably worse in large cities and urban areas (read: Democratic).

[Whats-wrong-with-the-truth]

The US Post Office does receive some tax-payer funded subsidies but regardless. I'm not here to argue. I've posted what is a definite change for the worse in the already pathetic service we receive. The US Postal Service is a government agency. I am all for shutting it down. If they cannot do their jobs they need to be recycled with people that can do the job or close completely.

My opinion.

[BfloGuy]

returning the money used by the postal service to those of us that pay the taxes to keep that dysfunctional agency afloat

I work for the Postal Service. Send me some specific details [tracking numbers, etc.] and I will try to see what happened.

But know this. THE POST OFFICE DOES NOT GET ONE RED CENT OF TAX MONEY.

Sorry for the CAPS, but that's been the case since the eighties. The Postal Service gets no tax money -- zip, zero, nada, zilch.

Do you really have any details or did you just want to bitch.

[Madame Dufarge]

they are tacking on a COD charge to the recipient

I call BS.

[Whats-wrong-with-the-truth]

"COD is paid for by the recipient.

FOB is paid for by the sender."

Really? Who'da thunk? LOL. Maybe I didn't spell it out clearly enough. We pay the postage before we mail the item. The same postage plus whatever raises they've been giving themselves lately and yet, when the item arrives to the recipient they are being told that more postage is due. When the letter carriers ask for the recipient to pay more they are asking for cash on delivery (aka - COD). Now it may well be that individual letter carriers have figured out a way to subsidize their incomes by scamming the recipients but whatever is happening it's a new issue and getting worse.

[ridesthemiles]

Call UPS or Fed Ex.

At least you get free tracking. .

[Kip Russell]

Letters and parcels that used to, for example, take one stamp are now costing over $2.00

A small parcel of 3 ounces or less costs $2.07. If you only put on a single stamp, the recipient will be charged the difference as a postage due item...and rightly so.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I had one of those last week.

[Kip Russell]

At least you get free tracking.

Priority, Express, and Standard packages all now receive free tracking through the Post Office.

[Fresh Wind]

COD is paid for by the recipient.

Cash on delivery. The recipient pays when the item is delivered rather than prior to shipment. COD is extra work for the post office, so they have every right to charge a fee.

FOB is paid for by the sender.

Free on board, or freight on board. FOB merely specifies the shipping location, which might be different from the office location. You might buy from a company located in New York with a warehouse in Chicago. They would specify "FOB Chicago", which means that you will place the order with the New York office, but it will be shipped from Chicago, and the shipping charges and delivery time will be based on the distance from Chicago, not New York. FOB generally assumes that the buyer pays the shipping.

[Fresh Wind]

Call UPS or Fed Ex.

Have you checked their rates lately? The minimum weight for UPS' cost calculator is one pound. In other words, if you send a 3 oz. package, you will pay the same as for a 1 pound package. For a local delivery, UPS will charge you $11.57 for that 3 oz. package. For cross country, UPS will charge you $13.44.

USPS charges you $2.07 for 3 oz, and that's the same for local or cross country. For a one pound package, USPS charges $5.60 to $6.95 (Priority mail).

Now, which one do you want to use?

[jttpwalsh]

I understand :)

[Battle Axe]

I got 4 (four) !!! pieces of mail for the box above mine. And 3 were bills.

[Donnafrflorida]

my sams payment mailed two weeks ago. still not received.