Postal worker didn't put the outgoing mail flag down

hollydolly said:
tell me something please... Obviosly 've seen those mailboxes in the USA.. but I've never been able to figure out how it works. You say that you put the flag up to let the mailman know to take the mail.. is it stamped already ?.. and also what stops thieves from accessing your mailbox ?
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I never put outgoing mail in the mailbox overnight. I put it out a couple hours before he comes.
 
See answer just above your comment
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??

"Yeah, that's just it; I can see how they don't have time to pull stuff out & check it to see when the flag isn't up."

Because the mail to be picked up is not actually in the Mailbox itself. It's on the drop-down door where it can be plainly seen and taken. Incoming mail is never put there - only in the mailbox, so mailman knows if there is mail on the door, it is to go!
 
We have pretty poor service. All mail delivery is done by the lowest contract bidder. The only good things is I signed up with the post office to receive a daily email of the mail to be delivered. They actually provide a picture of each item. They are pretty good with the flag, but chances are high you'll get someone else's mail.
 
Raddragn said:
??

"Yeah, that's just it; I can see how they don't have time to pull stuff out & check it to see when the flag isn't up."

Because the mail to be picked up is not actually in the Mailbox itself. It's on the drop-down door where it can be plainly seen and taken. Incoming mail is never put there - only in the mailbox, so mailman knows if there is mail on the door, it is to go!
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But the mail to be picked up from me is in fact inside the mailbox. We don't have that clip thing inside the door or wherever; I've never seen or heard about it on any mailboxes around here. Wouldn't surprise me if they've said they won't allow it; we get so much wind around here--blew down the nextdoor neighbor's birch tree and several branches off our trees last night--that it'd probably blow that outgoing mail right out of the clip. (Plus, out here in the boonies, a major recreational activity seems to be for lowlifes to drive around either beating on mailboxes with a baseball bat or worse yet, ramming the mailbox's post with their car. So there would go any outgoing mail held by some kind of clip.)
 
I never put outgoing mail in our mailbox. Any enclosed checks could get snatched, washed, and cashed. Even a full sized post office box can be risky if the days mail has been picked up and my letter will be spending the night. I would add that I just saw a TV news clip warning about theft from the large street corner mailboxes. Probably best to take mail containing checks, or anything you don‘t want stolen, direct to the PostOffice.
 
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Many years ago I issued a complaint at my local PO about the carrier not picking up my outgoing mail from my mailbox when the flag was raised. I was told that they picked up the mail from my mailbox as a courtesy and that it was not compulsory.
:oops:
 
One of the biggest reasons I never put the flag up and never put out-going mail in the box until an hour or so before the mailman expected. Don't use checks much anymore because a check has too much info on the bottom - maybe 2 or 3 times a year. Credit cards are safer.
 
This reminds of the rural mailboxes from my youth. If the mailbox faced the road, there was something in it - incoming or outgoing. An empty mailbox was turned 90 degrees.

All new urban homes in the past 25+ years have communal boxes. Only homes that had an attached mailbox kept home delivery. The postal system wanted to change it but that was fought against. Personally, I like having to walk to the mailbox. It’s an excuse to get out.
 
Our mail carrier does a great job except he “forgets” to put the flag down occasionally. I’m pretty sure it’s a reaching issue because we live at the end of a street and if the turning angle isn’t just right they would have to get out of the vehicle (god forbid). As far as theft, my 83 yr old father lives with us and is better than the ring camera or my dog. ☺️
 
debodun said:
Yesterday I had mail to be picked up and put the mailbox flag up. I kept looking out to see if it had been picked up. It got to be 4 pm and the flag was still up. I went out and looked in the mailbox and the item was gone, so it had been picked up, but the flag was still up. Anyone else have this happen if you have a roadside mailbox?
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Sometimes. Sometimes not. Get a lot of mis-delivered mail that should go to someone else. Putting that back in the box for pick up and re-delivery to the proper recipient is the only thing I flag for. Everything else outgoing I take to the post office and post it inside - not to an outside box.

Basically, here in the states, at least where I live, USPS is hosed up and minimally functional. Actually, feel fortunate the flag has not been ripped off or broken yet by postal delivery in their usual big hurry hasty delivery after dark mode.
 
hollydolly said:
we have those in the Gated community in Spain.. PITA because they get stuffed full of leaflets and brochures and the Mailman can't get the genuine mail in so it sticks out of the slot, just ripe for thieves..
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Recently I taped down a note in our mailbox. Basically it says to not deliver anything that isn’t addressed to us. We no longer get junk mail.

I just noticed this thread is a couple of years old. It’s still relevant.
 
win231 said:
I'd never leave mail in the mailbox for pickup. Especially mail that has credit card into. Mail theft is common. But I suppose people who haven't yet been a victim wouldn't be concerned.
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Credit card info can be bad, but checks in the hands of a thief can be even worse. Thieves properly equipped can chemically wash all of the writing on the check, all but the signature. For that reason alone I would never leave an envelope in a box with the flag up.
 
I have had them miss the outgoing mail and then put the flag down. So I now make sure the outgoing envelope is standing on edge and clearly visible. Our mail carrier takes and delivers mail through a car window.
 
ArnoldC said:
Sometimes. Sometimes not. Get a lot of mis-delivered mail that should go to someone else. Putting that back in the box for pick up and re-delivery to the proper recipient is the only thing I flag for. Everything else outgoing I take to the post office and post it inside - not to an outside box.

Basically, here in the states, at least where I live, USPS is hosed up and minimally functional. Actually, feel fortunate the flag has not been ripped off or broken yet by postal delivery in their usual big hurry hasty delivery after dark mode.
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The USPS in my area is horrible. I have had many, many items (including a wedding invitation that required a timely RSVP) simply not get delivered. I once got a Christmas card postdated in December, delivered in February. I had a forwarding order put in place when I moved last summer that was basically ignored; most items were delivered to my old address. Fortunately the new tenant was good about forwarding it. I get misdelivered mail every week. It's apparently a big problem because management sent out a note telling residents to simply put misdelivered mail back into the outgoing-mail slot.

It's gotten so bad here that the local officials demanded that the regional Inspector General conduct a formal evaluation, which they did. Their report noted the multiple service problems but did not suggest any actions to be taken. Nothing's changed.

I recently signed on with a publishing service that pays by sending checks through the mail. (Everyone else generally does bank transfers.) I'm already dreading having the checks get lost and payment delayed.
 
debodun said:
Yesterday I had mail to be picked up and put the mailbox flag up. I kept looking out to see if it had been picked up. It got to be 4 pm and the flag was still up. I went out and looked in the mailbox and the item was gone, so it had been picked up, but the flag was still up. Anyone else have this happen if you have a roadside mailbox?
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Er... maybe tomorrow a different driver runs this route and they're pranking each other?
 
KDGreen said:
Our mail carrier does a great job except he “forgets” to put the flag down occasionally. I’m pretty sure it’s a reaching issue because we live at the end of a street and if the turning angle isn’t just right they would have to get out of the vehicle (god forbid). As far as theft, my 83 yr old father lives with us and is better than the ring camera or my dog. ☺️
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Welcome to the forum. I see this is your first post. This thread is 2 years old. Deb has probably worked this problem out already.
 
In Germany we don't have these mailboxes, unless somebody bought such a thing at a trip to the U.S. or maybe on the internet. Thus the flag on these very rare mailboxes is never of any significance to the postman.
Sorry, thread crapping: This remembers me of the movie "The Postman Always Rings Twice". I like both versions, the original from 1946 and the remake from 1981.
 

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