CLEARWATER, Fla. — Where's the mail? That’s what Clearwater resident Gary Ferrara wanted to know after his deliveries slowed to a drip around Christmas.
The retired veteran says he missed out on letters from Social Security and Medicare. But neither his carrier nor the local post office could answer his questions about why his box had no mail on multiple days.
“It got to the point where it was nothing,” Ferrara said.
Ferrara says he called his local branch, the High Point Post Office, at least half a dozen times but could not get through to a manager.
“That was the upsetting part,” he said.
By February, Ferrara was beyond frustrated and he called on Taking Action Reporter Jackie Callaway for help. Jackie relayed Gary’s missing mail story to a spokesperson for USPS Florida.
In a statement, USPS explained that although they try to “provide the best possible service” that on “rare occurrences (they) fall short of that goal.”
The statement went on to read: "Local management ...took immediate steps to research and resolve the matter. It was determined that the delivery issue was related to human error, which caused unintended consequences in the mail delivery for our customer. We regret the error and have addressed it with the employee. … “
Days later Ferrara says mail started flooding his box.
“I got a bunch of mail that first day,” Ferrara said.
He also added that the local postmaster called to apologize for the error.
“It is fantastic. I had not seen it in quite a long time,” he said.
If you or someone you know is dealing with a similar mail issue here's where you can turn:
For delayed mail, either domestic or international, call 1-800-275-8777 to file a complaint. Or go to USPS online, choose the tab marked "Where is My Package" or "Where is My Mail."
For lost or damaged mail, file a claim for either international mail or domestic mail.
