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posted by cmn32480 on Monday October 24 2016, @09:04AM   Printer-friendly
from the now-I-won't-get-my-Christmas-cards dept.

Yet another United States Postal Service employee is joining The Mail Carrier Hall Of Shame, after being accused of dumping hundreds of pieces of mail into a ditch — while a local filmed the whole thing.

The USPS is investigating after residents in Decatur, GA reported seeing a mail carrier throwing several bins of mail into the woods behind a subdivision, WSB-TV reports.

The subdivision's HOA president witnessed the dumping on Tuesday, and sent the news station video and photos of incident.

"I sat there and recorded for about five minutes. And he continued to just grab more mail and continued to just toss it over the fence," she told WSB-TV. "At one point he actually stopped and took a break like he was tired, and continued to toss the mail. He eventually drove off like it was normal."

The station tipped off USPS, and the agency dispatched investigators to the scene. Once there, it took five postal workers two hours to collect more than a dozen bins' worth of mail.

- https://consumerist.com/2016/10/20/video-shows-usps-worker-dumping-bins-of-mail-in-a-ditch/
https://web.archive.org/web/20161023092445/https://consumerist.com/2016/10/20/video-shows-usps-worker-dumping-bins-of-mail-in-a-ditch/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20161023092445/http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/dekalb-county/thousands-of-pieces-of-mail-dumped-in-woods-usps-launches-investigation/458775917


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  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday October 24 2016, @05:28PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Monday October 24 2016, @05:28PM (#418218) Journal

    Is there any other kind of mail anymore? Packages I care about, but the mail is all junk mail. I shred it so the kids can use it as bedding for their guinea pigs. For me it has no other use.

    I have read of people soaking it in water and pressing it into log-shaped molds to burn in the fireplace, though.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by stormreaver on Monday October 24 2016, @06:33PM

    by stormreaver (5101) on Monday October 24 2016, @06:33PM (#418236)

    I shred it so the kids can use it as bedding for their guinea pigs.

    I like to shred it, then return it in the prepaid envelopes. I also like to include some additional, random content from my shredder. It doesn't take long to get removed from the mailing lists that way.

    • (Score: 2) by Nuke on Monday October 24 2016, @10:07PM

      by Nuke (3162) on Monday October 24 2016, @10:07PM (#418302)

      I like to shred it, then return it in the prepaid envelopes. I also like to include some additional, random content ....

      Why shred it? You can get more random stuff in their envelope if you don't. A lot of junk mail does not come with a pre-paid envelope. In that case I note their phone numbers (I keep a list) and enter that in the forms of other junk mail that I am returning with pre-paid envelopes. Just think of those marketing droids phoning each other up thinking they have found a sucker.

      It particularly annoys me to get junk mail that nags me to recycle it if I am not interested. I stuff as much paper as possible into their return envelopes with a post-it that says as they as so keen on recycling, they can do it themselves.

      It doesn't take long to get removed from the mailing lists that way.

      I find it makes no difference; its fun though.

      • (Score: 2) by stormreaver on Tuesday October 25 2016, @11:37AM

        by stormreaver (5101) on Tuesday October 25 2016, @11:37AM (#418480)

        Why shred it?

        To prevent any other private information from inadvertently making its way to marketers. It's much harder for spammers to extract information from confetti than from full sheets of paper.

        • (Score: 2) by Nuke on Tuesday October 25 2016, @06:46PM

          by Nuke (3162) on Tuesday October 25 2016, @06:46PM (#418670)

          Usually the documents sent to you are generic, like blank forms, which I sometimes fill in with the names and phone numbers of other spammers and junk-mailers. If the junk mali is addressed to you personally, you can always tear off the bit with your name on it. In any case, any info already on the paperwork when you get it is already known to the people who sent it, obviously.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 24 2016, @06:51PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 24 2016, @06:51PM (#418241)

    Is there any other kind of mail anymore?

    Some people still send bills and payments by mail, especially those who don't trust online services.

  • (Score: 2) by mcgrew on Monday October 24 2016, @09:20PM

    by mcgrew (701) <publish@mcgrewbooks.com> on Monday October 24 2016, @09:20PM (#418287) Homepage Journal

    Actually, I use USPS a lot. Sure, email took over two decades ago, but I like my bills on paper. I stack them up until payday, when I have a physical reminder to pay each one. The bank statement, as well. And I NEED paper for my ISP bill, because I've never used that email address and that's the address they send password resets to. The electric company charges two bucks to pay online, so it's cheaper to write a check and drop it in the mail.

    A long throw stapler came Saturday, a book is coming this Friday. Both by USPS.

    --
    mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Nuke on Monday October 24 2016, @10:21PM

      by Nuke (3162) on Monday October 24 2016, @10:21PM (#418306)

      email took over two decades ago, but I like my bills on paper

      No, it did not take over; it supplemented.

      In the UK, banks and utilities are constantly nagging customers like me to "go paperless". Yet they will not accept a new customer unless you show proof of identity in the form of paper statements and bills from other banks and utilities - but printing them from the internet "is not acceptable". They are hypocrites.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 24 2016, @11:41PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 24 2016, @11:41PM (#418320)

        > but printing them from the internet "is not acceptable".

        In the US printouts have been acceptable for years. The last two times I moved cross-country the local banks and even the state driver's license office accepted print-outs.

      • (Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday October 26 2016, @03:14PM

        by mcgrew (701) <publish@mcgrewbooks.com> on Wednesday October 26 2016, @03:14PM (#419016) Homepage Journal

        What I meant by "took over" is that nobody mails letters these days. Written correspondence these days is a text message or an email. As far as the "go paperless" I'm sure all big companies are trying to get their clients and customers to "go paperless" because if you do, their costs for paper, printing, and postage go down.

        --
        mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
    • (Score: 1) by charon on Tuesday October 25 2016, @11:51PM

      by charon (5660) on Tuesday October 25 2016, @11:51PM (#418770) Journal
      They charge extra to pay online? Most of my bills say they will charge you extra for paper and not for being paperless. Being charged is bullshit either way, but at least it sort of makes sense that the paper and postage are real costs they incur.
      • (Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday October 26 2016, @03:25PM

        by mcgrew (701) <publish@mcgrewbooks.com> on Wednesday October 26 2016, @03:25PM (#419019) Homepage Journal

        The charge is for using a credit card, whether over the internet or if you show up at the Municipal Building and pay in person. The reason is credit card companies charge merchants between one and two dollars per transaction. Most merchants need this to retain customers. If you use your card to buy only a candy bar, the merchant actually loses money on that sale (good to remember if a merchant has screwed you over -- visit his shop daily and buy something with your card that costs less than a dollar).

        --
        mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
  • (Score: 3, Funny) by krishnoid on Monday October 24 2016, @09:50PM

    by krishnoid (1156) on Monday October 24 2016, @09:50PM (#418298)

    I shred it so the kids can use it as bedding for their guinea pigs.

    Just more evidence that mass mailers and the USPS are firmly in the pouch of big rodent.