Postal Letter

What should I do if the mailman puts my neighbor's mail in my box?

I live in an apartment complex where our mailboxes are in a row. The mailman has accidentally put my neighbor's mail in my mailbox on a few occasions. Should I: 1. Put it back in my mailbox and put up the flag so the mailman finds it the next day and puts it in the right place? 2. Stick it in my neighbor's mailbox? Is number 2 not illegal? Thanks in advance.

Public Comments

1. its a mistake why not be decent and put it in the neighbors box and be done with it and not start a fight. my good ness its their main and wouldnt' you like them to do the same for you?
2. If you know which neighbor, you should just stick it in their box. Or you could do the flag thing so they pay more attention next time.
3. I would just stick into your neighbors mail box.
4. Put it in your neighbors mailbox. That is not illegal. Or you could just give it to your neighbors. But yeah, it's their mail, it belongs in their box.
5. Just put it in yours and raise the flag people can be touchy nowadays so you never know
6. leave it in your box with the flag up if that doesn't work write on it wrong box or whatever.
7. If you know which box it belongs in, just put in there. It's the simplest and most efficient way to remedy the problem. If it becomes a recurring issue, file a report or whatever with the post office.
8. Number 2 is only illegal if you where putting something other then delivered mail in the box. ie if the FedEX guy left a letter at your apartment, you couldn't legally put in the neighbors mailbox since it never had postage paid and wasn't processed by the post office. Since the letter the mailman misplaced did have postage paid and was processed by the post office legally it can be inserted into the mailbox. Basiclly comes down to the fact the post office legally owns the mailbox and wants to make sure anything in it had postage paid to them. (which is why they must also process it, since simply sticking postage on a letter and sticking it in a mailbox would mean the postage was never canceled/paid out) This is the reason newspaper can't be left in mailboxes and instead they must provide their own if they deliver them.
9. #1
10. If it is an occasional thing either 1 or 2 should work & you might want to let that neighbor know. If it happens a lot, mention it to your letter carrier & your neighbor. If it continues, file a complaint with the local Postmaster. If it is still not corrected, let all of the neighbors know & encourage them all to file complaints with the Postmaster. If you have good carriers, show them a little respect & appreciation as well. The good ones don't appreciate being judged the same as the bad ones any more than anyone else does. Good luck.
11. The right thing to do is put the mail in the neighbors box. I would also have a word with the mailman to let he/she know that this keeps happening. A word about it being illegal. What's illegal is putting things in a mailbox that are NOT U.S. Mail. Things like flyers, ads, anything that has not been sent through the USPS. Putting mail that was mistakenly put in your box is not an issue. The other thing you could do is knock on the neighbor's door and hand them the mail; tell them that the situation keeps happening. Its not their fault but they may want to have a word with the mail carrier as well.