U.S. Mail hold... worthless?
 

Have been gone the month of August and before leaving we placed a 1 month hold on our mail so as to not cause an issue with putting a vast amount of junk mail, etc. into the small mail box at our postal station.

Came back a week before the mail hold was up and checked out our mail box. It was crammed full of mail to the point I could barely wedge the mail out. Included with the explosion of mail was a print out stating our requested mail hold (which had yet to expire). So, I take it putting a hold on your mail here in the Villages is just pointless?

Yes, it is pointless because Government employees or contractors are never held accountable for anything they do or don't do.

While we have had pretty good luck with mail holds, finding the people sorting the mail when we get back is hit or miss. They don’t seem to keep regular hours.

What did you expect the hold mail to do?

How did you think your hold mail would work:
1. Keep the mail in Lady Lake then put it into your secured box on the day your hold ends?
2. Keep the mail in a box on the floor of the postal station then put it into your secured box on the day your hold ends?
3. Put your mail in a box on the floor if it doesn't fit into your secured box?

Had you not come back early you would not have known which of the three had been used. And what difference does it make? Your mail wasn't blowing around your yard, it was safely secured while you were away, and it was available when you returned. What is the problem?

The hold mail service *might* stop some junk mail (or might not, that's why the word "might"). What it accomplishes is letting the mail station people know why you haven't emptied your box. Rather than thinking you simply haven't picked it up, they know that you are away.

Have used the Hold service many, many times.

Works perfectly every time.

Couple of time, the box was packed.............but NO damage to any mail.
Most of the time, my mail is placed in a bin.

Remember, they have limited space and limited bins in their space.
They fill the box, until it overflows.

Sounds like most of your mail was junk mail........so nothing hurt.

Did you do it online, directly with the post office? We do this every time we go away and when we get back it is in a box for us.

We used to put a note in the mailbox, put it on hold online, and talk to the lady at the postal station and still got a mailbox crammed with mail. Now we just give the postal box key to a neighbor and they get it for us.

I use mail hold/forward all the time. Usually no problems at all.

I think it would be a little daunting to be the person working in the little room, staring at 200 holes.
To make life easier for them, I also fold an index card in half so it stands up. I write on it, “please hold mail until…..”
It seems to work well for both of us.

Since the U.S. Postal Service offers this service, I didn't think I needed to determine how they go about implementing it. Simply figured they'd bin it until the date THEY offered to deliver it and place it one of the key lockers if it didn't easily fit in the mail box itself. Instead, to my surprise, it was hammer into the mail box a week BEFORE the provided delivery date and was nearly impossible to remove from the box without destroying portions of the mail. Since I am unfamiliar with the process HERE (have used it without issue in other locations) I posted this thread.

The online version of mail hold has worked for me. Don’t use the card

Mail hold and forwarding, neither have worked for me

I have not used it here but up north many times booking online with success. Here, I am not sure I care to put it on hold since it’s in a secure box already and not a regular mailbox to blow out or for someone to look inside and say geez they are not at home. I have all my stuff online so the majority would be junk or stuff I was not expecting like cards, etc.

The USPS is an amazing organization!

When you consider how many billions of pieces of mail are handled each and every day, no other organization does as good a job as the Post Office!

We have all heard the stories about "the check is in the mail" right? Well, I can tell you that when the check is in the mail, it invariably gets through. Very very very few pieces of mail do not get to where they were addressed.

We all like to find fault with the Post Office. But, I for one, think it is one of the greatest institutions we have. Besides, where else can you put a flimsy piece of paper in the mail shoot for less than a buck and have it delivered thousands of miles away in just a few days.

Stop complaining and celebrating this institution which has been around longer than our country has existed!

I noticed that you said nothing about the cost and how many billions of dollars they lose every year that the taxpayers need to pay for. Read the IG reports and other audit reports, including the Postal service's own reports. Amazon does a much better job and they make a profit. I will not stop complaining until the U.S. Postal Service is abolished as it should be.

Amazon charges a lot more (as do FedEx and UPS) and may not guarantee delivery to every home every day.

It's been too long since I read up on financing of the Post Office but if I remember correctly, delivery of mail is paying for itself (or close to it) but demands for pre-funding of retirement benefits put them in the red.

You want good service to every home in the country at a low price while email is cutting into your income PLUS put billions into a retirement plan - something has to give.

Funding of retirement benefits is an actual cost that needs to be paid for by the taxpayers. But, even the U.S. Postal Service admits that they lose billions every year and they need to improve their efficiency. Read their own reports. The Postal service loses billions by delivering junk mail at below their cost which no profit-making company would ever offer. How many junk mail deliveries have you ever received from UPS or FedEx? All junk mail comes from the U.S. Post Office. Why can't they at least allow customers to cancel their Postal account? It would be illegal for any private company to mandate that every person in the country must have an account with their company. Why can't the Government allow customers to opt out?

22 years using mail hold 2-3 times per year.....never a problem.

All I know is that am sick and tired of going to my mailbox once or twice an week and throwing everything away. I do zero business through the mail. Perhaps l should stop going there and let it pile up?

Here’s an idea - let usps give us email addresses. Get rid of mail, deliver packages.

Look into Informed Delivery and then yes, let it pile up.

I am sure you will be willing to cough up $139 each and every year to the post office as you do for Amazon! Then add in the extra amount you pay to buy an item on Amazon as an even greater incentive for the USPS.

Keep complaining ... it will shorten your life. Enjoy the wonderful things we have like a post office and you will be much happier! By the way, most people who complain about paying too much in taxes rarely pay much in taxes. I hope you are not one of them.

You have to take the form to the post office yourself not leave it in the box

Ditto. Everything gets thrown away. Junk mail, such a nuisance.

Everything has been on-line with us for many years. Nothing but junk mail, except Christmas Cards from our older relatives throughout December, still a nicety of yesteryear.

They’re a great institution alright. Great at losing billons of dollars every year. They are on the worst run organizations we have.

There’s a lot to love in our country but our mail system isn’t one of those.

That is quite the stereotype you are throwing at all government employees and contractors. As a government employee myself, I work with some of the hardest working people on the planet. I am certainly held accountable for what I do and I definitely hold my employees accountable.

Correct

Correct again

I have used hold mail and forwarded mail probably 15 times in the last 5 years (Snowflake). The key is to do it online AT LEAST 2 weeks before you leave. With the exception of three pieces, one time, it has worked perfectly. The ladies at the Glenbrook station are very efficient. Usually, by the time I leave, they have the backside of the box blocked off with paper to remind them that we aren't there. I go to the Lady Lake USPO to pick up whatever is there and it works fine.

:thumbup:

The problem is that they went out of their way to go through the process of getting a mail hold and the idiots who were supposed to follow it couldn’t even handle that.

Last year was my first extended stay anywhere during the winter. It was just one month away from Michigan winter. I set up the mail forwarding online. I got mail in TV one time. The rest was stuffed into my mail slot up north.

I never do anything directly with the post office. All I do is give a note to the person who works at the mail facility in the villages and they hold my mail for me. It’s great. I’ve never had a problem.

Mail holds before moving to Florida was never a problem. Haven't yet tried it down here.

But responsible handling of mail here doesn't seem to be on a par with service in other places.

We've put holds on our mail dozens of time with outstanding results over the past 7 years. Our mail carrier? even dropped off the bin with more than 3 weeks of mail to our home. My wife dropped off a thank you note with a small gift card for the outstanding service.

We always set up Hold Mail online and never have a problem. We pick up the mail and it is in a bin.

No, the problem is they had an expectation of what a mail hold entailed that did not match what they experienced.

When I ask for my mail to be held I expect it will be stored in a secured space and not delivered to the box at my house. That second part is easy since there is no box at my house to deliver it to. The first part is easy because the mail is in secured spaces until I unlock my bin at the postal station. When the mail hold ends and I come to pick it up I expect to find either the mail in my box (common) or a key to a package bin and my mail there. That is my expectation and that is what I experience. Come to think of it, I may not be able to tell if any special action was taken at all.

That is what the OP experienced (though he showed up early) but apparently that did not match what he expected. Perhaps the OP would have happier if he had found an empty postal box and been denied access to his mail until the hold ended.

The postal union and their lavish pensions have destroyed the USPS. Its almost a dollar to mail a letter which takes about a week to get delivered. If its a package good chance it will get damaged.

All the way up to the President

I was a Federal Government employee for 35 years, 20 of that was as an Inspector General.

But, I do have one question. How do you define "accountable"? Also, if they are the hardest working people on the planet, you must be paying a lot of overtime because, by law, they can only work 40 hours per week at their regular pay rate.

I have used it several times myself at the Pineridge Station. No issues.

We put our mail on hold several times a year for different lengths of time and I’ve never had a problem here in the villages.