Disabled couple denied door delivery by United States Postal Service

RICHTON, Miss. (WDAM) - A disabled couple in Richton said they have been going back and forth with the United States Postal Service on the placement of their mailbox.

“It made me feel discriminated against because my neighbor’s mailbox is completely off of the road by her house,” said Deborah Walley.

Deborah and her husband, Elvin, are trying to switch from a post office box to a mailbox located at the top of their driveway.

The couple went through the proper channels to install their mailbox, but when they alerted the postmaster, he wasn’t happy.

“I went down to the postmaster and he gave me some trouble about it,” said Deborah.

The couple is worried about the suggested placement of their mailbox.

USPS suggested they place it across Highway 42 in another person’s driveway, claiming it would be safest for the mail carrier.

Unfortunately, that isn’t feasible for the Walleys, who are disabled.

“There’s no way that we could cross the road in our wheelchairs, Highway 42, and go down and get the mail,” said Deborah.

The Postal Service does offer door delivery for those with disabilities.

So the Walleys sent in the paper work, including doctors’ notes and were denied their request by the USPS.

And now they don’t know what to do.

WDAM reached out to the United States Postal Service and they responded with this statement:

The Postal Service appreciates its customers and strives to provide excellent service. When mail service issues occur, we take steps to quickly resolve customer concerns. In this specific case, the Postal Service is working with our customer to arrive at a suitable resolution, regarding the location of their mail receptacle. Postal regulations require customers with curbside delivery to provide and erect mailboxes on motorized city, rural, and contract delivery service routes at the curb, so a carrier can safely and conveniently serve them without leaving his or her vehicle, and where customers also have safe and reasonable access. The Postal Service is a customer-oriented organization, and we are continuing to communicate with the customer, regarding procedures and guidelines that govern mail delivery, as well as available options. Each request for hardship delivery is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. When there are other residents at the address who are able to walk to the mailbox, the hardship request is not granted. Postal officials will continue to work with this customer to find a safe location for her mailbox.

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