COLUMBIA, S.C. — Reports of mail delays from the United States Postal Service are coming in from across the country, including here in the Midlands.
Marsha Kent, a resident of Chapin, says she was missing a package from the post office for two weeks.
"Informed delivery just kept saying, "pending processing,"or something of that sort, in Columbia. And it pended for about two weeks."
After days went by and her tracker online still said pending, she filed a complaint with the post office.
"The person actually replied back to me," Kent says. "I think it was on an email, and said that they would look into it. Well, my package arrived within two days after that."
Kent says she feels lucky that her problem was solved, unlike many of her neighbors. She’s seen a lot of complaints about delayed mail on NextDoor – an app that allows neighbors to report issues in their area.
"Just today, I noticed there was someone. I looked at [NextDoor] briefly. They said that they don't get their mail on Thursday, Friday or Saturday of any week. And other issues are packages that are missing packages or are mis-delivered."
Kent still gets her mail every day, but it’s hours later than she’s used to.
According to recent reports, the delays are a result of recent changes at USPS like eliminating overtime for many employees, holding mail if distribution centers are running behind, and banning postal workers from making extra trips to deliver mail.
USPS says in a statement,
“…we take customer concerns seriously and remain fully committed to delivering mail in a timely, consistent manner. We continue to review our staffing and scheduling and make necessary adjustments to enhance our services... Customers with questions about mail deliveries can reach a postal representative by calling 1-800-ASK-USPS, online at www.usps.com, or through Twitter via @USPSHelp.”