South Ga. residents concerned with mail delivery issues, delays

TIFTON, Ga. (WALB) - If you feel like your mail delivery is inconsistent, you’re not alone.

Several complaints from people in South Georgia have raised concerns that items delivered by the United States Postal Service (USPS) are truly snail mail.

This national issue has trickled down to several rural communities in Georgia.

Postal service workers confirmed that delays at the post office come from being short-staffed and, sometimes, even weather conditions.

Willis Terrell, an Irwinville resident, said his family has been experiencing the issue for two years now.

“You try to call, and you get the government number up north and you’re on the phone for an hour waiting on somebody and don’t ever get nobody. In fact, we are waiting on our taxes that’s been mailed over a week from Florida to us and we haven’t gotten anything yet,” Terrell said.

Over 100 Facebook comments mirror others’ concerns across South Georgia with similar issues. One family told WALB they filed several complaints and eventually got an apology from Tifton’s USPS postmaster.

“Probably five, six months ago, it started. We would go a few days without getting mail. One time, it was a whole week that we didn’t get any and we get prescriptions through the mail. So that kind of stinks,” Mary Sarno, a Tifton resident, said.

Congressman Austin Scott said he is willing to work with residents in the community on this issue. He said this in a statement.

”My office is aware of increased postal delivery issues across Georgia’s Eighth District and has been in contact with the U.S. Postal Service. My office is submitting inquiries on behalf of each individual who reports an issue, and USPS is citing employee shortages for most of the delays.”

Scott said if constituents are having issues with postal delivery, he said they should call their local post office.

“If they do not resolve your issue, then please call my Tifton office at (229) 396-5175 or contact my team through my website at austinscott.house.gov, and we will open a case with USPS about your issue.” the congressman added.

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