Glenwood Landing residents voice concerns over PO Box requirements
Residents say the problem is affecting more than routine correspondence.
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Glenwood Landing residents say they are having trouble receiving mail and packages after the U.S. Postal Service began requiring P.O. Box numbers to be included with their addresses.
Residents say they have used their home addresses for years, but are now seeing mail and packages returned to senders when the P.O. Box number is not included.
"They want us to update everything with the P.O. Box, but there are some things that won't let you," said Caswell Lucidi, of Glenwood Landing. "We changed the insurance policy on our car. The new insurance company called us and said we just got our mail that we sent you back, do you know why?" They were trying to verify our address and we told them. They are trying to add a line and they are having the same issue of the system not validating the address."
Residents say the problem is affecting more than routine correspondence.
"There's a lot of people having problems with passports, Meals on Wheels where they require an address, not a post office box," said Jeremy Barth, of Glenwood Landing. "There is medication not being delivered."
According to the U.S. Postal Service, Glenwood Landing does not meet the threshold for home mail delivery, meaning residents must use P.O. Boxes.
Barth says he wants the Postal Service to take another look at whether the community could qualify for mail delivery.
"I started a petition for the post master general to investigate and find out what the real numbers are so they can provide us with mail delivery. I think we are entitled to it," Barth said.
The Postal Service says P.O. Box renters are required to verify their information every year. The agency also says postal policy requires the P.O. Box number to be listed on mail and packages as part of the address.
For residents who work during the day, picking up packages at the post office can also be difficult.
"As someone who works for a living, I'm not usually here between nine and five," Lucidi said. "Which means I have to come here on Saturday to get my packages and things I might get, instead of them sitting on my porch where they should be."
