What does the post office do if your mailbox is too full?

[Writer]

Do they hold your mail? Return it to the sender? Burn it?

[Guava Jelly]

1. I have no idea

:shrug:

[yewberry]

2. They hold your mail

at the post office and leave you a notice. If you don't pick it up, it gets returned to sender. I'm not sure, but I think they return it after ten days.

[Writer]

4. I am trying to find out if they held my mail.

I don't see a slip indicating that they did hold our mail. We were gone for eight days, and the last items actually postmarked were for 4/7. Perhaps I should contact the post office?

[Truthiness Inspector]

5. I would go in and ask them at the counter

I know this sounds like a stupid question, but are you sure no family or friends with your P.O. box key picked up your mail for you?

[yewberry]

8. There's mail in the box?

What happens here is that they empty out the mailbox, leave a notice, and won't actually deliver anything to you until you go in and pick up your mail. Maybe you should contact the PO tomorrow to be sure, though.

[YDogg]

10. Yup. Another reason to rent the smallest box.

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. Not a clue. The various members of my family race to the mailbox daily.

We fight over the idea that someone out there cares enough to contact us via the USPS.

[Redstone]

11. So, I guess I'm not the only one who resents Federal holidays because there's no mail, then?

I absolutely HATE it when it's a weekday and there's no mail.

Redstone

[Pacifist Patriot]

15. Spawn of Satan

[doc03]

6. The mail that is left over at the end

of their route goes in the last box. I am the last one on my route and I get left-overs all the time, just got a whole stack that was for a guy about 2 miles from my house yesterday. I gave it to him at the coffee shop this morning, it's a small village sort of like Mayberry.

[SPKrazy]

7. You can always have it held

but if your box is too full they may hold it for you anyway.

When I was in college this guy I knew worked for the campus post office and his El Camino would have a bag of mail half empty in it with envelopes falling out some days when he'd come back from happy hour.

I always hoped he was the exception to the rule. I think the US post office is pretty responsible, but even the campus ones probably are. It just takes one irresponsible one in the chain to screw it up.

I'd just check with the office.

Surely it's just been held :D

[northzax]

9. well, there is a belief system

that will tell you the resulting effect is probably armageddon.

[Kali]

12. At my post office they have these other boxes that they use for big packages.

they put the key in your regular box and when you use it to open the "package" box it sticks in the lock somehow so you can't walk off with it.

I have had the overflow go to one of those before when I didn't get in to pick up the mail for a few weeks.

But I get my mail in a tiny little hamlet that basically IS the post office and a few trailers so I have no idea how a bigger city place would do it. Call and ask in the morning.

[Kerrytravelers]

13. My dad was a letter carrier for 25 years.

WHen your box is too full, and they've stuffed all they can in, they will keep it at the post office... and then chide you for not letting them know! You can call if you're delayed out of town and let them know the circumstances. When you return, just let them know you're back. If you know you'll be gone for an extended period of time, you can fill out a form and let them know at your local post office. I believe the form is good for 30 days. If it's more than that, you will need to speak to someone at the counter. Enjoy waiting in line!

[Kingofalldems]

14. If you have a regular carrier he will hold it for you

He would also knock on your door to see if anything is wrong--and also check with neighbors. A notice would be left in your box and all mail would be brought back to the PO. I suggest calling your local office and asking to speak to the carrier of your address. And no, your mail will not be returned to sender.

[grace0418]

16. Well, in my neighborhood they only seem to deliver the mail about 4 times a week.

And if your box is too full they throw it on the floor of our foyer (after, of course, attempting to jam it all in by crumpling it all up into a tiny ball). Sometimes they take all the mail for my entire building (12 units) and jam it all into my box. I love having to try to get all that mail out of my little box, then having to deliver it to all my neighbors.

Lastly, based on the fact that my address is 21XX *West* Street Name (altered to protect my privacy) and I often get mail addressed to people at addresses such as 52XX *North* Completely Different Street Name Several Miles Away, I'm guessing if my box was too full they might just deliver my mail to someone else in another part of the city.

They didn't just name Chicago as the worst postal system in the country for nothing. :eyes:

[Kerrytravelers]

18. I'd report that carrier.

I had to report mine when several pieces a mail related to my job (I work from home) was never delivered. I have also found mail I put in the box two days ago still there.

[sniffa]

17. they get to keep it

if it's an honest carrier, he'LL take it back to the office to divy up the goods among his peers.