Who The Heck Are You, And What Are You Doing With My Mail?

[Tyler]

Question for the CPuck folks regarding mail delivery..

So I just moved into a new home in Cranston, and have just started noticing something really weird regarding my mail.

Because I work from home, I often go get the mail in the afternoon. The weird thing is, the mail does not come in a Canada Post truck, and it is not delivered by a Canada Post employee.

Instead, two punk teenagers show up in a Honda Civic, pop the truck, and start sorting through and feeding envelopes and letters into the brown CP box.

Is this even legal? I'm usually pretty care-free, but I dont really like the idea of someone in a non-governmental uniform looking sorting through my mail.

[ken0042]

Yeah, in Copperfield it's some dude in a minivan who delivers the mail.

[Vulcan]

I think these routes are contracted out.

[RougeUnderoos]

Just go ask them what the deal is.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

I think these routes are contracted out.

They do contract out routes. For instance, in Lethbridge, during the Christmas season they contract out people to help out with the extra load. Now maybe you'll recall a couple who was wanted by the police for stealing over 30,000 items of mail in the Lethbridge area. It seems as though they had stock piled bunches of mail and even opened the mail and kept some items for themselves. I think they have both already been convicted and are doing time, iirc.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Question for the CPuck folks regarding mail delivery..

So I just moved into a new home in Cranston, and have just started noticing something really weird regarding my mail.

Because I work from home, I often go get the mail in the afternoon. The weird thing is, the mail does not come in a Canada Post truck, and it is not delivered by a Canada Post employee.

Instead, two punk teenagers show up in a Honda Civic, pop the truck, and start sorting through and feeding envelopes and letters into the brown CP box.

Is this even legal? I'm usually pretty care-free, but I dont really like the idea of someone in a non-governmental uniform looking sorting through my mail.

We have led a sheltered life, haven't we?

I live in the country and have been getting my mail this way for over 30 years. They subcontract out to people living in that area, do the usualy background checks, whatnot, and then those people deliver mail, also pickup mail dropped off and take to Canada Post for future delivery.

No different really than any Canada Post outlet in a 7-11 store, dry cleaning outlet, drugstore, what have you, same principle.

[Ford Prefect]

Canada Post contracts out the service for those super boxes everywhere. I haven't seen one being serviced by an actual Canada Post employee for years ... I has assumed they were all private contractors doing it by now.

[flip]

tyler what these people have told you is in fact true. actually as i sit in the office at work right now a lady contractor is delivering mail to our postal outlet as we speak.

because drivers make so much damn money if they are part of the CP union (thats canada post not calgary puck) CP just pays people low wages and lets them ruin their own vehicles to deliver the mail.

and don't worry the canada post people are usually just as incompetant as the contractors from my experience except they make 50000 a year and get like 9 weeks holidays.

[mac_gurl]

I've noticed that too. We live in evergreen, and its a guy in a van. Sometimes i think our mail is pretty random. We will go days without getting a single piece, and then get a mailbox full!! Very weird!

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by flip

tyler what these people have told you is in fact true. actually as i sit in the office at work right now a lady contractor is delivering mail to our postal outlet as we speak.

because drivers make so much damn money if they are part of the CP union (thats canada post not calgary puck) CP just pays people low wages and lets them ruin their own vehicles to deliver the mail.

and don't worry the canada post people are usually just as incompetant as the contractors from my experience except they make 50000 a year and get like 9 weeks holidays.

Well, in my neck of the woods, the contract mail delivery lady is not only not incompetent, she is great - she got to know lots of the people around here, she'll attempt door delivery of parcels that won't fit a superbox, instead of leaving a pickup slip, etc. Just a generally cheerful and helpful person. When my wife was at home with our newborn, she'd drop the mail off in person most days, even.

Do you generally go around calling people incompetant, or is it only mail delivery people you have a beef with?

[Dion]

It's contracted out here in High River also.

The biggest problem I have is getting other peoples mail in my box and mine in someone elses. I've complained to Canada Post about the poor job of sorting the contracted people do, but get little satisfaction. Talking with the people is like talking to a brick wall. Goes in one ear and out the other. Now I just let the people who sometimes get my mail to just drop it off at the house. I do the same when their mail when it ends up in mine.

[flip]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Well, in my neck of the woods, the contract mail delivery lady is not only not incompetent, she is great - she got to know lots of the people around here, she'll attempt door delivery of parcels that won't fit a superbox, instead of leaving a pickup slip, etc. Just a generally cheerful and helpful person. When my wife was at home with our newborn, she'd drop the mail off in person most days, even.

Do you generally go around calling people incompetant, or is it only mail delivery people you have a beef with?

well i originally meant the statement like neither of them is better or worse than the other one. but from working in a post office sooooooooooo many of the can post and the contractors are too lazy to walk up to the damn door and deliver the parcel themselves or use the superboxes. so much so that we were forced to contact the depot and complain about them and not let them drop off any parcells that don't require a signature.

[4X4]

I used to contract myself to CP. Contractors are no different than CP union except for wages & benefits (ie, us contractors would drive 150 on deerfoot while texting to get our job done for the same amount of money as the left lane pacers that had to fill 8 hours).

We had teh same sorting booth and we could take as much or as little mail as we wanted. I had keys to all teh boxes in bridlewood, cranston and chapparell. Plus, at xmas, I delivered all the parcels.

One day, some guy jacked me at the mailbos. Was understandible as I was wearing a TUK-U hoodie (arctic joke, I expect nobody here to understand) and ski pants.
He wanted to know why I "jimmied the box open". I had to explain that jimmying open the box was the only way to deliver him his new credit card.

I guess the humour was lost. I eventually told him I was a contractor and that contractors can wear whatever tehy want and drive civilian cars. He was pretty choked.

Good money though. And the earlier you're done, the earlier you're working elsewhere.

[pope04]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Good money though. And the earlier you're done, the earlier you're working elsewhere.

I applied as a rural and suburban driver back in ....'03 I think. I went to the initial group interview, was called back for the "real" interview and was offered the position. When my package arrived, I was offered much less than what was originally in the online Canada Post ad. When I factored in the commercial insurance and the wear and tear on my minivan, it just wasn't worth it.

[4X4]

Ah, but you did not factor in the delivery of xmas packages.

In one month (~2003)(December) I made $4,000 over and above my regular "letter carrier" "wages".

Actually, the only reason I quit was because the union starred getting annoyed at us "SS" people for showing them up daily. Shortky after I left, there was a contract re-adjustment and SSers were (to my knowledge) 'eliminated'.

I'm a little surprised that anyone is talking about getting mail delivered by anyone other than a CPer.

[pope04]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Ah, but you did not factor in the delivery of xmas packages.

In one month (~2003)(December) I made $4,000 over and above my regular "letter carrier" "wages".

Actually, the only reason I quit was because the union starred getting annoyed at us "SS" people for showing them up daily. Shortky after I left, there was a contract re-adjustment and SSers were (to my knowledge) 'eliminated'.

I'm a little surprised that anyone is talking about getting mail delivered by anyone other than a CPer.

My interview was in December of '03. I was unaware that there would be more bucks for delivery of Christmas packages.

[KevanGuy]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Was understandible as I was wearing a TUK-U hoodie (arctic joke, I expect nobody here to understand) and ski pants.

Nice, I have my Dad's TUK-U shirt he got back in the 70's or early 80's.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by flip

tyler what these people have told you is in fact true. actually as i sit in the office at work right now a lady contractor is delivering mail to our postal outlet as we speak.

because drivers make so much damn money if they are part of the CP union (thats canada post not calgary puck) CP just pays people low wages and lets them ruin their own vehicles to deliver the mail.

and don't worry the canada post people are usually just as incompetant as the contractors from my experience except they make 50000 a year and get like 9 weeks holidays.

This is the way the process works. Each individual carrier BIDS for the job against everyone else who puts in a bid for that route too I suppose. How the interview process goes, I am not sure, and I dont know if low bid gets the route either, but I do know, from talking to my carrier, that the process works that way.

I have not had any problems at all with my mail delivery using a privately contracted out carrier. I had one woman deliver our mail for around 22 years, now we have a second carrier. You have their personal phone numbers so they are very easy to contact.

And usually they are very accomodating if you are on vacation etc. All I do is phone my carrier or leave him a note and ask him to put in mail until my box is full and then just hold the other stuff until he sees I am home and have picked up my other mail. With Canada Post, you have to go through a rigamarole and fill out a card and pay for the service too.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Dion

It's contracted out here in High River also.

The biggest problem I have is getting other peoples mail in my box and mine in someone elses. I've complained to Canada Post about the poor job of sorting the contracted people do, but get little satisfaction. Talking with the people is like talking to a brick wall. Goes in one ear and out the other. Now I just let the people who sometimes get my mail to just drop it off at the house. I do the same when their mail when it ends up in mine.

1. Why bother talking to Canada Post. Here is what you do. Find out which depot your mail is sorted at and phone that depot. Ask for your carrier's name and phone number and phone them direct. If they wont give you their phone number, leave a message for your carrier to phone you back and then resolve the problem that way.

2. My carrier said the easiest thing to do if that ever happens, is simply to put the wrong mail back in the slot for outgoing mail. You can just put it back in or you can write a message on it saying, delivered to wrong household etc.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by redforever

1. Why bother talking to Canada Post. Here is what you do. Find out which depot your mail is sorted at and phone that depot. Ask for your carrier's name and phone number and phone them direct. If they wont give you their phone number, leave a message for your carrier to phone you back and then resolve the problem that way.

2. My carrier said the easiest thing to do if that ever happens, is simply to put the wrong mail back in the slot for outgoing mail. You can just put it back in or you can write a message on it saying, delivered to wrong household etc.

Excellent points. I'll be sure to do that.

Thanks for the information