WTF? Mail Tampering / Theft

[Hound dog]

Star, your mail arrived today. OPEN despite the fact that you'd taped it to make sure it stayed closed......AND with the end of the envelope SLICED open as well.

In ALL MY YEARS I've never ever had mail arrive in such condition.

Coupons are still there. Presumably they were searching for cash.

I have smoke coming out of my ears. But it's too late in the day for ME to go down to the post office to blast someone's ears off.

husband gets the mail the moment it's dropped in the box. There is NO WAY this was a neighbor or even a passerby. I suspect the mail carrier, mainly because she didn't knock on the door and hand husband the envelope to make sure he knew the condition and that he got it ok. I could be wrong. But there is NO WAY the carrier did NOT know the envelope was in that condition as she'd have HAD to have handled it carefully to make sure all the coupons didn't dump out. (yup that's how bad of shape the envelope was in) Even the bottom had slices in it.

So tomorrow I'm going down to the post office and taking it with me and showing it to them and making a formal complaint. Last time I checked opening someone's mail is a FEDERAL OFFENSE! husband would never in his wildest dreams open something addressed to me.........but he also knows Star's return address and knew what it was without really looking at it.

Oh I suppose some of the coupons might be missing, but there are a lot there and I of course have no way of knowing if there are or not.

Ohhhhhh! This makes me soooooo d@mn mad!!!

 

[donna723]

That does sound very suspicious! I've gotten mail before where the envelop had been torn or ripped. But the post office always puts them into another bigger envelop with a see-through window before they put it in to my mailbox.

 

[Marguerite]

HD, if that envelope had chunks of paper in it, to someone handling the sealed envelop it could well have felt like folded cash. And a lot of people do send cash through the mail, even though they shouldn't. A lot of people put cash (or lottery tickets) inside cards too, so cards are probably also targetted.

Certainly the post office should investigate this. Be prepared to put the incident in writing. Also be prepared for them to find the culprit but not tell you. The thing is - if you alert them to the problem, even if they never get back to you about it, they WILL be watching the staff they suspect. And so making a formal complaint is always worth it, the staff who do the wrong thing do eventually get caught and sacked.

Marg

 

[AnnieO]

Marg, not only shouldn't cash be sent through the mail, here it is against the law.

Lisa, I'd be screaming. I've been considering a PO box simply because I just cannot trust BM & Onyxx... Which is why I never SEND anything from home.

 

[HaoZi]

Sending cash isn't illegal unless you're sending it for illegal purposes. It's not a great idea, but you can do it. You can even buy insurance for it at the post office when you mail it.

 

[CrazyinVA]

I've frequently had someone else's mail put in my mailbox. Our local post offices do this all the time, every where I've lived in this area. Drives me nuts. if it were me, I'd wonder if it was possibly a mistake. I know I've come close to opening someone else's mail before, until I saw the addressee. If it's in my mailbox I shouldn't have to look, but I've had to learn to double-check.

 

[AnnieO]

LOL - well, apparently I am misinformed! That's what I get for listening to my parents.

Still, I'm not about to send cash through the mail...

 

[Hound dog]

Sad part is, I've received cash via mail........and never had this happen.

I've on occasion, especially with a new carrier, received someone else's mail or vice versa, never has it been opened.

I've had mail arrive to me in bad shape, but never opened.

I don't send/receive cash via mail and haven't for a long time. It's just not a good idea anymore. I don't know anyone who has.

 

[AnnieO]

I've accidentally opened other people's mail. When I do? I will tuck a post-it note in, explaining that I accidentally opened it. Then I'll tape it shut and put it back in the mailbox. If it has my address, and is clearly not mine, I will write "not at this address" on the envelope.

I think the best one was when we got a contempt order from the court - addressed to BM. It did not get opened. I checked the court website, and it showed that SHE - not her lawyer - filed a change of address for both parties - switching her address with ours, so the contempt that husband got went to her mother's house - and was signed for by BM herself - and was never seen again. A few days later, the site showed where we had returned hers. And then a letter from our lawyer asking about the address change. We never did see the contempt - but it did say on the website that both husband and BM were in contempt for not attending parenting classes. husband's lawyer then filed our certificates from the class (AGAIN - the site showed they'd been filed by the teacher) - and BM scrambled to finish hers before court.

 

[DammitJanet]

Thats unreal about the opened mail that way. I have had mail ripped just a tiny bit. A corner mangled in the sorting machine or something. If something actually gets ripped badly it has always come in that larger envelope like Donna said.

I have received cash in a card before from my Dad or someone else but it was always fairly small amounts and you couldnt see it through the envelope. I have also sent small amounts of cash that way...in a card. I actually wont waste the money on a money order for something that small because in order to get the money order traced and get your money replaced, it costs an astronomical amount of money and time. Not worth it at all.

 

[AnnieO]

If it's over $10, I send a check. But that's me...

 

[DDD]

I think it is possible that a neighbor received it, opened it with all the other mail and then realized OOPS!
My husband always opens all the envelopes before he takes out the contents OR looks to see who it is addressed to. Just one of his quirks and since he has so few I don't say anything. DDD

 

[DammitJanet]

Step...I dont have checks anymore since the Cory debacle...lol

 

[AnnieO]

Janet... I understand!!! (The one thing Onyxx wouldn't steal? Our credit cards and checks. Why? "Because you check your accounts all the time!!!")

 

[Star*]

There's an EASY way for ME to remedy this - and your next envelope will take care of it - I mailed THAT particular envelope FROM the post office here in Columbia at the window. NOT from my mail box.

The next envelope will state very clearly

FEDERAL POST OFFICE
THEFT DETERENT TEST ENVELOPE TRACKING OBSERVATION PACKAGE
PACKAGE NO: 1 OF 25


tampering with this package carries a minimum federal prison sentence of 25 years
this package is being tracked and observed by a United States Postal Federal Officer

 

[AnnieO]

There's an EASY way for ME to remedy this - and your next envelope will take care of it - I mailed THAT particular envelope FROM the post office here in Columbia at the window. NOT from my mail box.

The next envelope will state very clearly

FEDERAL POST OFFICE
THEFT DETERENT TEST ENVELOPE TRACKING OBSERVATION PACKAGE
PACKAGE NO: 1 OF 25


tampering with this package carries a minimum federal prison sentence of 25 years
this package is being tracked and observed by a United States Postal Federal Officer