HOUSTON — The holiday mail rush is over, but Helen Forester is among the millions across the United States with late arriving bills.
"Actually, I have one that was dated Dec. 24, and I didn't get it till the first week of January," Forester said.
Frances Johnson was dealing with a late letter to the IRS, and Laurie Brickner got dinged for a late HOA payment to her condo board.
"I sent my HOA fee in, and they never did get it," Brickner said.
Brickner works at a bank, where she now gets complaints from customers about missing bank mail.
"It turns out a lot of people are not getting the checks they've ordered," Brickner said. "And also, if they open up a new account and want a debit card, there's a delay in getting that."
The U.S. Postal Service said there are two main reasons for all these delays; first, more people shipping a lot more things during the pandemic; and second, staffing issues with many postal workers out on quarantine.
In a statement, the USPS said it is "experiencing unprecedented volume increases and limited employee availability due to the impacts of COVID-19."
A report by NPR called "there's no end in sight" paints a gloomy picture, but a report by NPR called "there's no end in sight" paints a gloomy picture.
It said recent postal budget cuts have been devastating, with mail piling up in some sorting centers.
Brickner thinks they need to hire more people fast.
"It's an overall problem with the post office, and it needs to be addressed," Brickner said.
Your best bet may be switching to paperless billing, so there's no risk of an electric, cable or credit card bill arriving late. That way you avoid late fees and don't waste your money.