Post Office screw up

I had taken the day off from work Monday. When my mail came, there was a magazine and an article of mail not addressed to me. Let me change that, the name was not me, but there was a yellow sticker with my address. The yellow sticker said "Notify sender of new address." I promptly took this to the post office and asked for their help. I told the girl that I had just received this and asked if she could check to see if someone is having their mail forwarded to my address. She asked if anyone lived at this address by this name? I said No. I live alone. She said she would have a couple of the others girls look it up on the computer, but she doubted very much if it was anything. I asked her how I would find out the outcome? She said I wouldn't. Me - "You mean you won't tell me the outcome?" Her -"That's right." Me - "So in other words. Someone could have their mail forwarded to my address and YOU can't tell me?" Her - "Yes." Me - "Well let me tell you how fucked up that is." Her - "Well if someone had a forward, don't you think you would have gotten mail before this?" Me - "I don't know. You tell me. After all the first piece of mail I received is from the IRS." Her - "We'll look into it, but I don't think there is a problem." Me - "Yeah. Right. Thanks a lot for you help. NOT."





Now to yesterday. The mail was delivered while I was at lunch. When I was leaving to go back to work I got it out of the box. This time there was an envelope from the United States Postal Service. "Official change of Address confirmation. Your welcome kit." Now my blood pressure is through the roof. I go back to work and call the post office. It was the same girl I spoke to on Monday. Me - "Guess what I got in the mail today? Let me tell you. A change of address confirmation kit. So obviously someone has a forward to my address." Her - "We looked into it and there was a problem. A number was left out. If you are in the area, you can drop that off to us." Me, (to myself Fuck that.) Her - "The problem has been resolved but it will take seven to ten days before it is totally corrected." Me - "You mean to tell me it will take seven to ten days to correct." Her - "yes." Me - "Let me ask you this?" Her - "Can you hold, I have customers." Well what the fuck am I. When she finally got back to me I asked "When someone does a change of address, do you require ID?" Her - "No". Me - "So if I knew your full name and address, I could go to the post office and fill out the forms and have all your mail forwarded to me. Once I start receiving your mail, I could basically steal your identity?" Her - "That would be highly unlikely that could happen." Me - "Why?" Her- "Because we bascially know everyone?" Me - "Not in my case now, huh? I have lived on Iowa Avenue for 41 years." Her - silence. Then she said "Most people don't even know what a forward is." Me - "Don't insult my intelligence and the intelligence of others. I don't know too many people that don't know what a forward is." Her - "You would be surprised how many people move and don't leave a forward." Me - "Yes the scumbags of the world that owe money and don't want anyone to find them." I think she tired of me as much as I tired of her. She then told me that the problem would be corrected. I asked that now they know there is a problem, are they going to make sure this person receives their mail? She said that this person is. I asked if they got the letter I brought to them on Monday? She asked what letter. I said, "You know the letter. The one from the IRS." To which she promptly responded that she did. Quite honestly, I don't think this person did receive that letter, but I hope they do.

When I got home, I called the post office in which the forward had been generated. I have bored you with the details of my post office so I won't go into all the details of this conversation, but it didn't go any better. They hide behind "We can't give out that information because of the Patriot Act." After this guy pissing me off by saying I was being sarcastic, and that he couldn't give me the information I was asking for, I asked him what information I was asking for. He couldn't answer. You know why, I wasn't asking for information. I said to him "I went to the Post Office for help. I had received a letter from the IRS that didn't belong to me. I live alone and wanted to make sure that someone wasn't using my address for their personal use. I wanted to make sure that someone wasn't coming to MY mailbox going through MY mail to retrieve their mail. I was told that they would look into it, but couldn't tell me if there was a problem. This is fucking wrong. All they would had to of done is say, "Lisa, we will look into this. We will contact you if there is a forward to your address and we will take care of the problem." That's it. No more. He said, "Well they should have done that." Well guess what they didn't.

Oh well I just needed to rant about this. I just think that it is horrible that when you ask for help, you don't get it. What kind of society are we becoming that people have to hide behind this act and that act or refuse to help other people. What happened to the society where people took responsibility for what they did and admit when they were wrong? Or help a person that is asking for help?