USPS Informed Delivery and Lost Mails

Introduction

USPS Informed Delivery is a service provided by the United States Postal Service (USPS) that allows users to preview their mail and manage their packages. The service sends users an email with images of the mail and packages that are scheduled to arrive soon. The users can also log in to the USPS website to view the images. Many users wonder how soon will the mail arrive after they receive the notification and whether the mail has been lost if it does not arrive.

In this blog post, I would like to share my experience with USPS Informed Delivery and lost mails.

USPS Informed Delivery and Lost Mails

Previously, I was waiting a mail to arrive and I saw the image of the mail in my USPS Informed Delivery history on Friday. There is another image of an advertisement mail in my USPS Delivery history on Thursday. However, when I checked my mailbox on Friday night, neither of the mails was in my mailbox.

On next Monday, I received the notification of another two mails that were arriving soon. When I checked my mailbox on Monday night, the two mails notified on Monday and the mail notified on Thursday were all in my mailbox. However, the mail notified on Friday was still missing. What the hack was going on?

I immediately contacted the USPS customer service regarding this issue. The customer service representative told me that the it is possible the Friday mail will be delivered at a later time. If not received, I shall file a missing mail.

Shortly after the conversation with the USPS customer service, my neighbor knocked on my door and handed me the Friday mail that was missing to me. It turned out that the mail was delivered to my neighbor’s mailbox by mistake. If my neighbor did not return the mail to me, this Friday mail would never be found.

Conclusions

From this experience, a few conclusions can be drawn.

• After receiving the notification of the mail arriving soon, it is possible that the mail will be delivered on the same day or in four days.
• If the mails that are notified before and after the mail of interest are delivered but the mail of interest is still missing, it is possible that the mail is lost or delivered to the incorrect address. The USPS should be contacted immediately about this issue.