Signed, Sealed—Delivered? USPS Responds to Oak Forest Residents' Mail Complaints

The United States Postal Service has a bit of explaining to do. Some residents of Oak Forest let Patch know on our Facebook page that their mail service has been spotty—at best—around the city, and they were wondering why.

From missing mail, to letters and other mail ending up everywhere but residents' mailboxes, to mail arriving at sporadic times of day, readers want to know what's been going on. 

USPS Customer Relations Coordinator for Central Illinois Beverly Howard said that residents with mail issues should let the local post office know immediately, either in person, via the USPS website or by calling 1-800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777).

"The main thing we want is to get it on record," Howard said. "If a customer is having issues, we are very concerned about them and we want to address those issues."

Howard added that once an issue is brought to the attention of the post office, it initiates a process to resolve the problem.

She said that in the case of missing letters, the post office identifies the mail as "did not receive" or "missing." Then the policing arm of the post office takes over, investigating why the letter or parcel is missing. From there, the receiving post office is notified of the matter to see if the item can be found between the point of drop-off and reception.

Howard added that any steps a customer takes to track items, such as getting mail certified, greatly help with lost or missing mail.

Howard added that although missing mail and other issues with service can be problems, if customers report it, the problem can be resolved.

"The main thing to happen is the resident's concern is documented," she said. "If a customer documents it with us, we can start a history and look into it. Once we get a complaint, we fix it and we do random checks after we fix the problem."

What did residents have to say about their mail service?