The last thing anyone would want to hear from a postmaster is that their mail isn’t being cared for, but that’s essentially what a PM was accused of in Illinois. A resident, who goes by ToshPointNo on Reddit, shared a story on r/usps_complaints, claiming that their local USPS postmaster had explicitly told them “stealing mail isn’t a felony.”
“I just can’t imagine someone who worked their way to postmaster being that wrong,” remarked ToshPointNo. According to their post, their local PM had made this remark during one of their visits to the post office. They had left packages on the counter because no one was around to take them, but when they returned the following day, the postmaster criticized them for it.
“The postmaster made a big spectacle about ‘how I shouldn’t do that’ because ‘someone could have taken them,’” ToshPointNo recalled. They tried to justify their actions by pointing to the office’s security cameras and by stating that stealing mail is a federal felony, to which the postmaster allegedly disagreed with a laugh.
Many Commenters Sided with the Postmaster and Condemned the Illinois Resident’s Actions
Among the dozens of Redditors who chimed in on the comments of ToshPointNo’s post, a good number of them sided with the postmaster. They didn’t agree with his comment, per se; the Redditors instead pointed out how OP should not have left their packages on the counter.
“Wouldn’t be mail until officially tendered to USPS, leaving it in the open like that probably wouldn’t qualify,” wrote a user. Another commenter agreed, saying that since USPS never took the packages into its possession, “You basically abandoned property,” they told OP. A third sarcastically remarked how the post office’s security cameras probably didn’t even work.
Other people brought up another issue in the conversation regarding how USPS or the police handle thefts, with commenters claiming that the authorities likely don’t take such reports seriously. ToshPointNo responded to the comments, saying that the police where they used to live were “equally as useless” when their house had been broken into.
A few Redditors supported OP’s complaint, with some even criticizing USPS postmasters in general. “Post masters are just glorified supervisors…. Who are just glorified workers that don’t work,” sighed a commenter.
In reality, the majority of the comment section is right in telling the Illinois resident not to leave their mail unattended. As one person sadly puts it, “mail theft is rampant and goes unpunished,” leaving much of the responsibility to normal people to keep their mail safe and secure.
