PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Va. — Some residents in Prince George County said they didn't receive mail for nearly a full week, and according to the United States Postal Service (USPS), staffing issues were at the root of the problem.
Robert Leinberger, who has lived in the Branchester Lakes neighborhood for three decades, said his mailbox hasn't been receiving much attention lately.
From Wednesday of last week through Monday of this week, he said the mail never came.
“We’ve had some severe problems with our mail for, it's probably been a month, but lately it's been really, really bad," Leinberger said. “It’s been absolutely crazy and all of my neighbors have not gotten their mail either.”
The 20-year Marine and Army veteran said he also put official military forms he needed to send out in the mailbox with the flag up last week, but they were never picked up.
It wasn't until Tuesday that he said his mail finally arrived. Included in it: his utility bill, caregiver information for his wife, and a credit card.
“I got 36 pieces of mail, all of the mail from the week before — Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday — a stack of mail and to include credit cards, all kinds of stuff, really important stuff," Leinberger said.
But he said delays like this aren't entirely uncommon. Over the past week, he said delivery has been "spotty" and inconsistent.
In trying to investigate the cause, he said he spoke with a local carrier to ask what was going on.
“She said, ‘Well, there's a shortage of people at the post office, because people have gotten fired and people have quit, and it's just a bad situation up there,'" Leinberger said.
CBS 6 reached out to the USPS to request information as to what's been causing the issues.
Spokesperson Philip Bogenberger said in a statement, "Most customers in Prince George are receiving normal mail delivery. Due to recent employee availability issues, some routes have been rotated and mail delivery to some customers may have missed a day or two. However, our data shows the subdivision you inquired about received mail delivery the past two days. We expect normal mail delivery to resume for all customers soon. We thank customers for their understanding and continued support."
However, Leinberger maintained the issue lasted longer than a day or two, and he said he's losing confidence that he'll receive prompt and efficient service in the future.
“Please hire some new people or request some assistance from another area, or get some additional help right away, or whatever it takes to get your system back online, to do what you need to do, to get the mail out there," Leinberger said. “We depend on the mail, and we expect a decent delivery of the mail and on time. If we don't get it, it impacts on us and affects us.”
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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