Packages Piled Up Near Mailboxes Cause Frustration For Recipients
By Jamie Leary
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- It's another recording breaking season for package deliveries at the United States Postal Service. USPS says it has mail carriers working round the clock. It has staffed carries as early as 6 a.m. and is now delivering Sundays.
With the surplus of holiday deliveries, it is important to take extra precautions to protect your package. CBS4 discovered one town located west of Denver that has had some added challenges this year.
A photo of packages piled outside of community mailboxes in Coal Creek Canyon has some people upset. It's not the only area in Coal Creek where this has happened.
"I walk around there every day and when I walked around, there's a bunch of boxes from different companies laying on the ground- they can't get them in the mailbox," said Glenn Link of Coal Creek Canyon.
Glenn has lived in Coal Creek Canyon for 38 years. He says this is a first.
"This year is the first time I've ever seen them piled in front mailboxes like that," said Glenn.
USPS says things have been running smoothly and when it inquired at the Golden Post Office about the method of delivery to the neighborhood, only one complaint had been reported.
"Twice I've gotten that they couldn't make it to my front porch. There was one time that they said it was handed directly to me and it wasn't," said Coal Creek Canyon resident Heidi Osborne.
A spokesperson for USPS says the complaint was investigated and the deliveries in question were tracked to a FedEx delivery service, not USPS.
USPS offers the following tips to ensure your holiday deliveries make their connection:
- Don't leave delivered mail and packages unattended. Just as wallets and purses shouldn't be left on the front seat of an unlocked car overnight, mail and packages shouldn't be left uncollected in mailboxes or on front porches for any length of time.
- Going out of town? Hold mail at a local Post Office. Instead of risking leaving a package unattended for an extended period of time, customers planning on being away from home for a few days are encouraged to have their mail held at a local Post Office until they return.
- Plan ahead. Ship using Hold for Pickup. When shipping a package, customers can choose the Hold for Pickup option and the recipient can collect the packages at their local Post Office. For customers receiving packages, they can redirect incoming packages to their local Post Office by selecting Hold for Pickup using USPS Package Intercept.
- Sign up for Informed Delivery. This free service, offered at www.InformedDelivery.com, will send text messages or email alerts notifying that a package is coming and additional notifications when the package has been delivered.
- Customize the delivery. If the package doesn't fit in the mailbox and the customer won't be home to receive it, the customer can provide delivery instructions online and authorize the carrier to leave it in a specified location. Visit usps.com, enter the tracking number and select Delivery Instructions.
- Secure the shipment using USPS Special Services. Signature Confirmation helps ensure the package ends up in the right hands by requiring a signature at the time of delivery. For the most valuable packages, customers can opt for Registered Mail service. Registered Mail receives special handling from the time it's mailed until it's delivered, documenting the chain of custody.
"There was a lot of mail theft last year, I know. I know many neighbors who have bought locking mailboxes," said Osborne.
Jamie Leary joined the CBS4 team in 2015 and currently works as a reporter for CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. She couldn't imagine a better place to live and work and will stop at nothing to find the next great story. Jamie loves learning about and hearing from her fellow community members, so connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @JamieALeary.
