Can the Postmaster hold your mail and then send it back to the sender if you don't move your mailbox?

Question

Our mailbox and three others is on the opposite side of the road as the rest of our neighbors. we live off of a road (Dudley) then at the end of the main road (Dudley) there is a road (Country) that does a loop further up to the main road (Dudley) so if you were coming down the road it would look like a giant backwards "P". The postmaster that delivers my mail goes down the main road (Dudley) and the takes a left onto my road (Country) then goes halfway down and turns around and goes BACK OUT the way she came in. Then she goes in the other half further up the main road (Dudley) and goes to the other half of my road and turns around and goes back out the same way she came in this time. Making two turn arounds is completely illogical because she could just go down the main road (Dudley) and then take a left onto our road (Country) and then go all the way around the loop and then turn around and go all the way back around then out onto the main road which would only be ONE turn. The postmaster contacted us today saying we have to move our mailbox to the other side of the road beside of the neighbor across the road so that she can only go down our road once instead of making the TWO turns she usually makes (which is illogical in the first placxe). She said if we didn't do it (because it's an inconvience to her) she would hold our mail and if in 10 days we didn't move our mailbox then she would return it to the sender. IS THAT LEGAL? Couldn't she just re-route her route?

-thanks

Answer 1

They don't deliver to me in winter unless I shovel out a 15-foot swipe in the snowbank so they can pull up to the mailbox like a McDonald's drive-thru and put the mail in without getting off their duff. But they don't return the letters -- they just hold them at the post office.



Bottom line: you can't fight them and it's not worth trying. Just take the half-hour to dig a new post hole and move your mailbox.

Answer 2

Hard to say without seeing it. Keep in mind they try to access everything from the driver's side of the vehicle without getting out. The post office also can require things be clustered, made easier to access, etc.



If you super duper think you have a better solution, you can try to debate it with the postmaster. However, they're almost certain to rely on the delivery person and their request for everything to be clustered together. Delivering mail to everyone can be a big physical burden, and they need to make it as efficient as possible.



Yes, if you don't comply they're right to hold your mail for pickup and return it if you don't. If you really want to dispute everything, get ready for them to require you to come pickup your mail throughout the process. Consider them delivering it to you (as opposed to forcing you to pick it up) to be a privilege, not a right.



No matter what, your solution appears to still be requiring two separate stops at the minimum. I'd bet there's a problem with how she has to access things as well. If it was me, I'd just move the darn mailbox. Don't get the postal people unneccessarily miffed at you.

Answer 3

Yes, they can require you to move it so all mailboxes are together or on the same side of the street.



Obviously, the mail carrier is not going to change her route to suit every customer. Even if your route might be more practicle. What if everyone else on the route had their own idea of what would be easier?



They set their route and can require people to move their boxes to make the route easier. Doing it at the convenience of the customer could potentially add hours to their delivery schedule.



I'm in a similar situation. All new developments in my area have to have mailbox banks so your mailbox could be a few miles away from your home, so I consider myself lucky.

Answer 4

They can set standards for mailbox size, design, manufacture, and placement. So yes, they can.



The postmaster doesn't deliver mail, they are in charge of the post office. It's a letter carrier who brings the mail.



It's rather egotistical of you to expect the letter carrier to change their route to accommodate you. Lots of places they are requiring all mail boxes to be on the same side of the road, and in many cases, clustered together in one spot for an entire area - so you have to drive to get your mail.

Answer 5

Who is "she" - the delivery person or did the request come from the post office? Call them and find out. If it is just the driver who is complaining, you might be able to dispute it. If the request came from the post office, then, move it.