USPS forced to apologize after axing program leaving customers without mail for months – they were told to pay $99

THE United States Postal Service has been forced to apologize to angry neighbors who were left without mail for months.

The USPS customers said they were left without important letters after the federal agency halted deliveries.

The agency claimed it sent letters to all residents impacted by the changes but half the neighborhood said they never received a note.

Some community members of Clio, South Carolina, a small town about 80 miles outside of Myrtle Beach, were enrolled in a program called Group E, a free post box service.

Due to the town’s small population of 523 people, USPS didn’t deliver to residents’ physical street addresses so the agency offered the postbox program, local ABC affiliate WPDE reported.

However, due to the rising population, the USPS recently announced it would begin delivering mail to residents’ physical addresses, eliminating the need for Group E mailboxes. 

The mail agency said it provided advanced notification for all residents impacted by the changes. 

But, many community members were caught off guard by the change and argued they weren’t notified ahead of time.

Clio residents gathered at a council meeting to discuss the ongoing USPS issues.

Several members said the mail drama caused them to miss bills, leading to late fees. 

Others said they were even left without important medications.

A representative from the USPS listened to residents’ concerns and promised all problems would be “rectified.”

“It really, from a United States Postal Service standpoint, is unacceptable, and it will be rectified,” USPS Customer Affairs Manager Howard Brown said.

“And we will continue to communicate through everything and make sure the citizens of Clio, South Carolina get treated the customers throughout the United States.”

USPS officials said Group E customers can transition to a PO box free of charge, however, some customers said they were charged nearly $100.

One neighbor said the postbox rental cost her an annual fee of $69, while another claimed she was told the yearly fee would be $99.

The USPS told Clio citizens it will begin delivering to postal-approved receptacles on March 31.

BROKEN SYSTEM

Clio’s snail mail problems came a month after Postmaster General Louis DeJoy called the USPS a “broken organization.”

“Fixing a broken organization that had experienced close to $100 billion in losses and was projected to lose another $200 billion, without a bankruptcy proceeding, is a daunting task,” he wrote in a letter to Congress.

“Fixing a heavily legislated and overly regulated organization as massive, important, cherished, misunderstood and debated as the United States Postal Service, with such a broken business model, is even more difficult.” 

DeJoy announced a voluntary early retirement program where 10,000 employees would be offered $15,000 to retire earlier than planned.

The postmaster hoped to partner with the Department of Government Efficiency to see through his 10-year Delivering for America plan.

“The Doge team was gracious enough to ask for the big problems they can help us with,” DeJoy wrote.