CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte man says he had a P.O. box at the uptown Charlotte post office for two decades. Then, one day, he found out the post office had given his box to someone else by mistake.
Juan Whipple started different businesses and moved often over the years. He got tired of constantly updating his address for family, friends, customers and companies billing him. So he signed up for the uptown P.O. box. "It's extremely important. It's a stable address," he said.
He says he used it for 22 years and everything was fine, until this month. Action 9's Jason Stoogenke asked him, "So, you go in there, you put your key in, didn't work after 22 years?" Whipple said, "Nothing happens."
The post office told him it closed his box and re-issued it to someone else for some reason. He thought, "What a nightmare, having to give out a new P.O. box number."
So, he contacted Action 9, which contacted the U.S. Postal Service. USPS looked into it and said Whipple was right, that there was a "temporary (and unique) glitch in the system" that made it look like Whipple's box was "available" when it wasn't. It gave his box back with a new lock and key.
Stoogenke asked, "How relieved are you?" Whipple said, "1,000 percent. Plus one."
The post office says it tested its system to make sure Whipple was the only example. It says he was.
If you have a problem with the post office, call 800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777). You may be hesitant to complain, figuring you'll call an automated system and be on hold for a long time. So, Action 9 found contact information for an actual person for Charlotte customers. Contact jessica.m.dew@usps.gov directly.
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