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A FURIOUS small business owner has slammed the USPS claiming her customer’s packages keep disappearing without a trace.
The woman has been left fuming as some parcels vanish for weeks – and others never show up at all.
The problem often starts and ends at one Louisiana distribution center, Kat Schweitzer told CBS local affiliate WWL.
The CraftyKatNola founder ships dozens of handmade items each month from her home base near New Orleans.
But when she drops them off at the post office, things often go sideways.
“It’s really frustrating on our end,” Schweitzer fumed.
She said she is constantly dealing with angry customers and scrambling to track down their missing items.
“If you can find me someone who’s not having problems with mail getting lost at the post office, I would be floored,” she said.
Schweitzer has learned to brace herself every time a customer says their order never arrived.
Sometimes she gets lucky and finds the package.
Other times, she is forced to give a refund and open a USPS claim.
“If it gets caught at St. Rose, it’s there to die, and I will issue you a refund and file a claim with the post office,” she said.
St. Rose is one of the USPS processing centers in Southeast Louisiana.
Schweitzer said that it has become a black hole for mail and she is not the only one speaking out.
Customers and business owners across the region told similar stories of mail delays and vanishing packages.
What to do when mail is missing
Step 1: Check the Current Status
Before you begin your search, if your package or mail has tracking, check USPS Tracking to see its current status.
Step 2: Complete a Help Request Form
Complete the USPS online help request form before you start a missing mail search. Please use a desktop computer to submit your form.
Your request will be forwarded to your local Post Office facility to help locate any missing items.
Step 3: Submit a Missing Mail Search Request
If after 7 business days from when you submitted your online help request form your mail or package hasn’t arrived, submit a Missing Mail search request with the following information:
- Sender mailing address
- Recipient mailing address
- Size and type of container or envelope you used
- Identifying information such as your USPS Tracking number(s), the mailing date from your mailing receipt, or Click-N-Ship label receipt
- Description of the contents such as what it is and the brand, model, color, or size, if applicable
- Pictures that could help us recognize your item
Step 4: Start your missing mail search
Some said parcels got stuck in the system for months before suddenly being delivered or never arrived at all, WWL reported.
A spokesperson told WWL, “When mail service issues occur, we take steps to quickly resolve customer concerns.
“We apologize to the customer for any inconvenience they may have experienced.”
MAIL CHANGES
The USPS woes come as the agency is revamping its service standards in a major cost-cutting push as it navigates financial uncertainty.
The changes came into effect this month as part of an effort to slash at least $36 billion in costs over the next decade.
The money-saving plan includes cutting back on transportation, processing operations, and real estate expenses.
But the changes won’t come without impact as some customers will see slower service.
The new adjustments affect first-class mail, periodicals, marketing mail, package services, USPS Ground Advantage, Priority Mail, and Priority Mail Express.
