Mail box security?

I've often worried about the security of my rural mail box at the end of my driveway. To the best of my knowledge, I've never lost anything but I still worry. I usually try to put the outgoing mail in the box within a few hours of pickup but that can be difficult as mail-persons change. Also, I never put mail out the night before.

Thoughts? Ever lost anything you are aware of? Mailbox theft rare?

TIA

Reply to
KenK
Loading thread data ...

It seems that no matter how carefully one takes precautions, the one thing that is going to get you is that which you have not planned for.

Unless you are living in an area where it's a known fact that there have been "mail box" thefts I don't think it's worth worrying about.

Of course I would take a package with valuable contents directly to the post office.

Reply to
philo

It has been alleged to be common in some places.

We don't leave anything *in* the box for pickup. Instead, carry it with us on a trip shopping (or damn near anywhere as there are mailboxes in many places in addition to many post office branches).

Our biggest problem has been with mail being misdelivered. Another gentleman at the same street NUMBER but on the next street over (entirely different street name, person name, etc.) often gets our mail and we, his.

We've each adopted the policy of walking the misdelivered mail over (instead of putting it back in the box).

Of course, no guarantee that "particularly interesting" mail hasn't been diverted/opened/discarded without our knowledge.

We've been here over 20 years and still get mail for a woman we *assume* must have lived here long before (despite returning all of it marked as "no longer at this address")

For business mail (that I don't want lost), I keep a POBox. Post Office is 2.5 miles from here and "on the way" to many of our weekly haunts so its not terribly inconvenient to stop there. And, the POBoxes are accessible after hours (there was a period when this was not true; I think a result of some on-site violence or threat, etc.)

Note there are other "private entities" that also offer something like a POBox. It has none of the guarantees of a *real* POBox. But, also has none of the legal requirements of a real POBox!

Reply to
Don Y

Ken,

I went years without any issues, then suddenly over a 2-3 year period I had mail stolen a few different times. I wouldn't have known except I was walking along the road and saw my opened mail discarded along the sides of the road.

I bought a large security mailbox. I haven't had any mail stolen since then, but someone did pry open the door at one point so I had to repair that.

A few lessons I learned along the way:

  1. NEVER EVER put outgoing mail in the box. Even with a security mailbox, outgoing mail is free for anyone to grab. If you need to mail something, take it to a post office box.
  2. Try to get any payments that come by mail directly deposited into your checking account instead. That way there is no mail to steal.
  3. Setup your bills for auto-payment, or at least pay them online electronically. Again, no outgoing mail to steal.
  4. Cancel phone book deliveries (I haven't used a phone book in years), and ask junk mailers to remove your name from their lists.

Since making these changes, I haven't had a single piece of mail stolen. The mail I do get is very limited, mostly the occasional junk mail, or a random letter or Christmas card (very few people send those anymore either).

On a related note, we used to have a lot of problems with kids taking out our mailbox with baseball bats. I had to replace our mailbox several times the first few years we lived here. So, I moved the box back off the road a ways, and made an area for the postal driver to pull out. It's safer for the postal driver, and not within convenient reach of driveby batters. Haven't had a problem since.

Anthony Watson

formatting link
formatting link

Reply to
HerHusband

Here, there was a spate of instances of folks having checks stolen from their mailboxes, washed and then rewritten (payable to CASH, etc.)

OTOH, I am not sure how many folks still use checks to pay bills!

Reply to
Don Y

What sort of neighborhood/area do you live in, Anthony? I.e., can (nosey) neighbors see/watch your mailbox? Or, are these sorts of things able to happen with the impunity afforded by anonymity?

Reply to
Don Y

Most use (or even require) auto deposit / withdrawal.

I receive only a few actual checks a year, and rarely write more than one check a month.

My wife and I do order most of our stuff on-line though. It's usually cheaper and certainly easier than driving off to some store that may not even have the product in stock. Some of it is sent via the mail and I have not had a problem.

Reply to
philo

+1

A while back a vendor ending up reshipping something (quite graciously) worth over $150 because the shipper left it at another house - happened to be a house of students across the street where it was deemed by the shipper to be "unrecoverable." He duked it out with UPS afterwards. I don't see them dropping off as many packages with neighbors as they used to.

Ditto.

Sort of like the TSA asking "did anyone touch your bags without you knowing about it?" (-:

I suspect some things have gone astray that were not expected but I wouldn't know about it.

Reply to
Robert Green

Nearly all of my outgoing mail is check payment for bills. I take those directly to the Post Office, and go INSIDE and put them into the drop slot there. I don't even like leaving them in the PO "drop box" outside.

Reply to
John Albert

Per HerHusband:

That is how it has been around here: sporadic, rare incidents. Halfwits

  • alcohol is my guess.
Reply to
(PeteCresswell)

I have heard of people taking things from mailboxes, but never experienced it myself. I live in what's considered a rural area but I don't leave anything for the mailman that I would hate to lose. Anything important I take to the mailboxes.

We don't get much interesting mail, so no problem.

Reply to
SeaNymph

We have a "Mrs Kravitz" across the street so that pretty much protects us from folks walking off with items. OTOH, I work out of the house so its rare that I am NOT here when something is delivered (and, I'm friendly with the UPS and USPS folks that service this area).

And, we tend not to receive many parcels in the mail. (I assume folks would be more interested in "big boxes by the front door" than gambling on what they *might* find in the mailbox -- in full view of all of our neighbors!)

Amusingly, I will NOT put the mail in his mailbox (though he will place any he receives into ours). Too much of the "law abiding" aspect ("only authorized U.S. Postal Service delivery personnel are allowed to place items in a mailbox"). So, I walk to his front door and leave the mail there (if I can't hand it to him personally)

Keyboard error -- press F1 to continue.

We've had one or two "financial statements" go missing. This is particularly disturbing as we aren't keen on folks knowing what's in our retirement accounts. We'd be less concerned if it was the water bill, etc.

But, as above, how do I *prove* they've passed before someone else's eyes?

Reply to
Don Y

I put my mail out in the morning and never leave it overnight. We had a neighborhood thief, now in jail, but there could be others.

Most of my problems are with the mail carrier giving my mail to someone else and me getting someone else's mail. I got a check once that had been opened, envelope stapled back together, and sent to me.

Post office makes most of their profit from the junk mailers and all their loose crap can cause problems with stuff you want.

Speaking of which, our local paper sent out a notice that several times a year, the paper would cost an extra dollar because of all the extra ads.

Readers want to strangle them.

Reply to
Frank

Ditto. Though our reason for avoiding the outside boxes is fear that they'll get stuck inside (overlooked) and end up being delivered late.

The inside box opens directly into the "mail processing area" so its well lighted and folks should be able to more readily see what's there.

In years past, you could have things "hand canceled" (not really a guarantee that they will be delivered promptly -- but *if* they are delivered, the postmark attests to your timely mailing of it!).

However, after some of the issues with terror in DC (mailed substances), the PO seems to have eliminated that hand cancel ability.

No problem. *BUY* a stamp at the window. They will invariably PRINT a (canceled) postage stamp to affix to the letter (taking it from you in the process) and thereby affording you the same "testimony".

Reply to
Don Y

Local paper BEGS people to subscribe. A sunday paper (97.2663% ads) was just left for us last week -- along with an "invitation" to a FREE 2 month subscription (just give us your email address and street address).

"No thanks" (we can get the news from a variety of sources -- to counter any "local spin" -- along with ads for any of the places we are LIKELY to visit. Why have to throw out a stack of paper each week for stuff that we can get elsewhere?)

Reply to
Don Y

On 02/15/2016 12:34 PM, Frank wrote: X

My carrier is an idiot and I get mail for my neighbors all the time. I simply run it over and drop it in their box.

I also get mail for someone I've never heard of and when I clip it to my mailbox with a huge note that they don't live here...he just leaves it! If it's junk mail I toss it, but anything that looks important, I have to take to a mailbox.

Reply to
philo

Papers are dying and so is mail thanks to the internet and TV news channels. Twenty years ago I used to spend about $30/month for postage for my part time consulting business. Now it's about 50 cents a month.

I do like the on-line edition of the paper and you have to be a print subscriber to get it for more than a few times access. Otherwise the paper version is only useful for the funnies.

Reply to
Frank

USPS is primarily a junk mail delvery service. Just work to take it to the trash:(

In case you havent heard the post office is losing billions, so first class mail is going to 60 cents.

the post master of the us wants to close post offices near other ones, but congress passed a law prohibiting that

the post office would allow grocery stores to set up mini post offices//////

our government no longer functions. this is just one example

Reply to
bob haller

Government agencies have discovered immortality and continue to grow. You have to drive a wooden stake through their heart or shoot them with a silver bullet.

Reply to
Frank

I _detest_ trying to read a newspaper online and will take both the local (small town) and another more substantial 'til either the day I die or they both refuse to mail 'em (we're rural, no carrier).

The local is important _for_ the "local spin"; it's one way to know what is going on locally besides just gossip. The other has a little more broad national coverage but it's still a pretty small town paper; the two metro papers quit mail delivery several years ago.

As for the OP's original question, we're rural as said but get our mail in town at the PO Box and have "since forever". Originally (19-teens) the rural delivery was to a corner point 2-1/2 mi closer to town where there were about 10 boxes back then. Grandfather said since at that point it was only another mile to the PO downtown, might as well just get it there and have it secure. Out here and now and especially then, that was mostly from wind and blowing dirt, not miscreants.

There are three other places on our road going to town who do get their mail at their boxes; afaik they've not had any troubles, at least never mentioned it. There is little traffic other than oilfield workers besides the locals, however, it's not a spot on the "way to anywhere" nor any reason for kids to be joyriding particularly or the like.

The only stories I hear are mostly Wichita or the like and they're either the random acts of destruction somebody else has mentioned or targetted at mostly the apartment complexes where there are many boxes in a close locale if they're looking for either checks or the like. Not much payoff in a one-at-a-time poke into a single box here and there...much better odds if there are 50 or so can rifle through at a time.

Reply to
dpb

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.