JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Georgia Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter and other local lawmakers are behind a letter addressed to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that is calling for transparency and operational improvements at the United States Postal Service (USPS) Regional Processing and Distribution Center (RPDC) in Jacksonville.
They said the call comes after months of resident and industry complaints regarding late or lost mail.
Joining Rep. Carter in signing this letter are Reps. Kat Cammack (R-FL), Aaron Bean (R-FL), Michael Waltz (R-FL), and John Rutherford (R-FL), who represent the South Georgia and North Florida districts serviced by the Jacksonville RPDC.
“Since the beginning of the new year, our offices have been inundated with complaints regarding delivery delays and lost mail…Some of our constituents have lost confidence in the postal system that was established before the founding of the United States. It is unacceptable for your tenure atop this department to stain a more than two-century-old reputation,” the letter states.
Customers at a Jacksonville post office complained about letters and packages taking weeks if not months to be delivered. In some cases, packages are ending up in the wrong states.
Tara Boid said for the last few months, her mail has been delayed from USPS.
“My mom’s had to come for the last three times and get a refund. Yes, ma’am. I don’t get it out there in California,” Boid said.
As a travel nurse, her mom regularly sends her important documents and packages from Jacksonville to California where she’s working temporarily.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Boid said. “It’s like you’re paying anywhere from $30 to $40 to get it overnight, and it’s taken two or three days to get it. It’s not coming overnight.”
Boid is not alone.
News4JAX Insiders shared similar stories like Terry Weaver who said he’s waiting on a package destined for Jacksonville from Texas.
“It was mailed June 5, got to Jacksonville and then sent on June 15 to Puerto Rico. [On June 26] I was notified it had been sent to Anchorage, Alaska,” Weaver said.
An anonymous viewer wrote about troubles with cards in the mail.
“My Christmas card from my sister in Brooks, GA [was] mailed on Dec. 16, 2023, and arrived at my address in Orange Park on Jan. 26, 2024. My mother’s birthday card [was sent] Feb. 13, 2024, from Orange Park, FL to Brooks, GA, and was returned as undeliverable on Feb. 24, 2024,” the viewer said.
The letter that Carter sent to the Postmaster General asks 10 questions and requests a response by Friday, June 28.
One question asks the Postmaster to schedule a visit to the Jacksonville Distribution Center to oversee operations for himself.
USPS made the following statement, “The Postal Service will provide a written response directly to Representative Carter, per our established process.”
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