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Checks, other important documents delayed at Houston USPS facilities, customers say

Amid ongoing mail delays at Houston-area postal facilities, there are growing concerns about checks and other important documents being sent through the mail.

HOUSTON — Carla Unkefer told KHOU 11 News that she’s still upset about the way USPS handled the investigation into her recently lost check.

The check was expected to arrive via priority mail in September, but it was never delivered, according to Unkefer. However, she said USPS tracking data shows that the check made it to a Houston-area mail sorting center.

"It was in the north Houston distribution center, and I checked ... I tracked it for at least a week after that and it stayed there," she said.

Shortly after that, she said the bank that issued the check told her it had been stolen and cashed. The details on the check were changed to make it payable to someone else in a process called check "washing" -- which is a crime.

Unkefer provided documentation of the multiple investigations she initiated with local police and USPS to find out what happened to the check. Ultimately, she never got answers.

"I still don’t know if it was an employee or if it was delivered to the wrong address," she said.

Unkefer was later reimbursed by the bank, but she fears other "priority mail" flat packages could be targeted in the chaos at Houston’s mail sorting centers.

A number of people have reached out to KHOU 11 News to express similar concerns about checks and other important documents like passports that have been delayed in the mail.

To report mail fraud, mail theft or suspicious mail, visit the U.S. Postal Inspection Service online. You can also report concerns about Houston mail delays to postal inspectors.

Are you having issues with the post office? Send an email to mailproblems@khou.com and let us know. You can see our coverage of delays at Houston-area USPS processing centers on KHOU.com/PostalProblems.

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