Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
A routine trip to the post office to check mail turned into a frustrating situation for some residents and businesses who found their boxes locked.
Holders of over 100 P.O. boxes at the Barnwell Post Office had their boxes locked and mail returned. The post office said they did not pay their annual fee, but the box holders said they never got invoices or a follow-up warning letter. They were told they would have to be issued a new box number and have their mail forwarded, according to box holders who contacted The People-Sentinel.
"I've had my P.O. box for 63 years. They let me know I’d have to purchase a new one, a new number, and fill out a change of address form. It's very frustrating," said Vera Bodiford.
Bodiford and other impacted box holders who contacted The People-Sentinel said they never received a bill to let them know their payment was due. They also never got a warning letter that their box would be cut off.
"I've had my box for 56 years and never missed a payment. They didn’t give me a notice the payment was due and sure didn’t give me notice it was going to be closed," said Libbus Sanders.
P.O. boxes are a lifeline for many people, particularly senior citizens who don't have access to the internet to receive and pay bills.
"My mom is 85 years old and doesn’t do the internet," said Sanders' daughter, Lisa Firmender, of how her mother relies on the mail she receives to her post office box.
Dale Brady said the box his family has had since 1988 was impacted. "It would appear that this is the result of a failure to send out billing notices to these box holders in a timely fashion," he said.
Residents weren't the only people impacted. Some businesses, who rely on boxes to receive their bills and checks, were also impacted.
"There are many businesses here in the City of Barnwell who have had their businesses for well over 40-50 years and have had the same PO box for that long. Do you know how much it cost to change that? Every account that they have would have to be changed and updated. This is not acceptable practice," said Lynn McEwen, administrator for the City of Barnwell. The city's box was impacted.
McEwen said she understands around 150 boxes were impacted.
"Our problems stem not from the inability or the inadvertent payment of the bill. We never received it. The way our post office bills us for our box is simple; they place the bills in the box with the mail. Now, we pay for our box once a year, so it is not something that we are necessarily looking for and remembering when it is due. I know that is not an excuse, but here is the bigger issue. When we went to pay our bill, there were many others whose P.O. boxes were also closed due to non-payment. From what I have heard (and I did not hear this firsthand but from others) around 150 boxes were closed due to nonpayment. Now, common sense would make you think that there may be something else going on here than just so many people not paying their P.O. box," said McEwen in an email she sent to the USPS.
While the city was able to pay for their box and get it back, McEwen said she's heard others were told they would have to get a new box number. McEwen said the USPS contacted her to apologize and stated they were working to resolve the issue.
The People-Sentinel reached out to Rep. Joe Wilson's office about this issue. His office had received multiple complaints from residents about this issue.
"I am aware of the ongoing situation regarding the Barnwell City Post Office boxes. My staff is working closely with our liaisons within the U.S. Postal Service to investigate and resolve the situation. Management officials from the U.S. Postal Service have been dispatched to place the affected P.O. Boxes on hold, and to work on restoring each of them to their previous holders. We will continue to monitor the situation and work towards a quick resolution," said Rep. Wilson.
The People-Sentinel reached out to the USPS for comment to learn how many boxes were impacted, whether invoices were issued, and exactly what happened. On Tuesday, September 3, a media representative said they were working on a response, but that was not received by press time. An update will be published once that response is received.
If your box was impacted or if you have questions, please contact Rep. Wilson's Aiken-Barnwell District Office at 803-642-6416 so they can track the depth of this issue.
