Illegal to leave in mailbox

[IWorkAsDirected]

I posted on another thread that it was a federal offense to open another person's mailbox. The reason is because when one of my kids was a teen-ager, he and some friends went mailbox bashing and got caught. They were told they could have been prosecuted by the feds as it was a federal offense to mess with a mailbox. These were customer-owned individual mailboxes at the street.

We recently signed a new driver release certification and one of the last points on it said that no notices or packages are to be left in mailboxes as it is illegal.

I advise those of you using mailboxes to discontinue this practice, if it pisses off the mail carrier he will report you and you will be in big doo doo.

 

[New Englander]

Trust me.....your not going to get into doo doo on it unless you are a heavy repeater of it.

The mailman will probably just take the package and force UPS to pay postage on it to get it back.

It is illegal and shouldn't be done but it's not like the Federal Government is going to come knocking on your door if you tied a UPS package to a mailbox.

 

[IWorkAsDirected]

I meant trouble with ups, here they are looking for ways to fire people and I'm sure this would work. We have had 1 guy fired twice in that last 2 months, a total of 5 firings in less than 6 months. Who's next? This only includes drivers, and we only have 27 drivers including those laid off.

 

[soberups]

I have done it a few times. I sheet it as "DR mailbox" so I'm not being dishonest. I know the mail carrier in my rural area, we get along OK, and as long as it doesnt happen on a regular basis he is cool with it. I have customers with 2 mile long driveways and during peak when I am running out of hours that is a shortcut I will occasionally take.

 

[Brownnblue]

How about leaving an info notice in a mailbox?

 

[IWorkAsDirected]

The dr certification says not to leave notices or pkgs in mailboxes as it is illegal to do so.

 

[toonertoo]

We had the dr cert also, and it says no mailboxes. But it is still listed as an option in the diad.

 

[looper804]

I am very friendly with the postal carrier in my area.If I am in an apartment building and have a small item for someone who is not home he will allow me to put it in the customers mail box.

 

[1989]

I've used a mailbox a few times only because I couldn't find the house...Any other reason is just plain laziness.

 

[New Englander]

I've used a mailbox a few times only because I couldn't find the house...Any other reason is just plain laziness.

Absolutely not just plain laziness. Winter Season, most customers actually request we leave it at the mailbox. I typically walk a bit up or down the driveway and tie it to a tree branch hanging down.

Not finding the house and leaving it at the box could also be considered laziness as well.

 

[Griff]

The real question at hand is why you would actually sign anything like this. You are entering into an extra contract agreement with the company.

 

[OldUPSDriver]

NEVER put a package in an empty mailbox.

 

[toonertoo]

The real question at hand is why you would actually sign anything like this. You are entering into an extra contract agreement with the company.

I didnt sign it.

 

[1989]

Absolutely not just plain laziness. Winter Season, most customers actually request we leave it at the mailbox. I typically walk a bit up or down the driveway and tie it to a tree branch hanging down.

Not finding the house and leaving it at the box could also be considered laziness as well.

You check out all the houses down the driveway or road and can't find one marked with the address you have and can't elimainate the other houses to determine which house it is.

 

[1989]

The real question at hand is why you would actually sign anything like this. You are entering into an extra contract agreement with the company.

That is a myth, you can be held accountable to it even though you didn't sign. Reviewed with employee on 5/02/08 they refused to sign (supervisor initials) same thing.

 

[helenofcalifornia]

Leaving DR notices in the mailbox depends on the route. I have done a rural route where both the mail carrier and the customers understand that the notices will be left in the box. As for the UPS half of the equation, I don't know. Seems kinda dumb to fire someone over this if you are saving them "send agains."

 

[rod]

Usually if you have been on a route long enough to know the mail carrier they don't mind if on very special occasions, like the driveway is too muddy or drifted in, you leave a small pkg in the mailbox. Don't ever take up the whole box though. Oh and if the regular mail carrier is on vacation or off sick don't count on his replacement being quite so understanding. Some mail carriers are supper nice and others aren't. Kind of like some UPS drivers

 

[New Englander]

You check out all the houses down the driveway or road and can't find one marked with the address you have and can't elimainate the other houses to determine which house it is.

Thats what ECS is for

 

[soberups]

. Seems kinda dumb to fire someone over this if you are saving them "send agains."

No one is going to get fired for leaving a package in a mailbox--they are going to get fired for lying about it. Big difference. If you put "DR-mailbox" on the delivery record, you are not being dishonest of falsifying a document, you are failing to follw proper procedure. There is a huge difference between the two acts in terms of potential disciplinary action.

 

[SmithBarney]

Once upon a time I was covering a rural route and the post office had closed
for the day(not early) Post lady just went home and closed shop, cause well
it was just that rural.
So I dropped(DR'd) a Gavalia Box in the big blue box.. I figured, better the
customer gets it than not... think again, the post lady was mad the next day.

But she got over it. Especially when I mentioned that she wasn't there when
she should have been open.(big NO-NO for her)

So no Mailboxes... not even the big blue ones...

Otherwise feel free to hang packages from the boxes, or stick Infonotices on em.
as long as it doesn't interfere with the Mailman, you are good to go.