11Alive is currently receiving thousands of emails regarding ongoing email issues.
ATLANTA — Michael Herzog owns a small business, but months of mail delays in Georgia have a big impact.
“Up to 50 percent of my customers pay by check…I send out a lot of invoices,” Herzog said.
Like others, Herzog started noticing delays in late February. Shortly after, our 11Alive investigation uncovered problems with a new regional processing and distribution center in Palmetto.
Months have passed, and Herzog and others are falling even further behind as they track complaints about everything from lost prescriptions to concerns about not receiving absentee ballots.
“After a month, you could end up with $50,000 to $10,000 in missed or late payments. But three to four months later, that adds up to $30,000 to $40,000,” Herzog said. It will happen,” he said. ”
11Alive was in Washington, D.C., last week to witness a tense exchange between U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy during a Capitol Hill Senate hearing focused on postal delays in Georgia.
“I can tell you that over the long term, we're probably going to have the best service in the country,” DeJoy said during the hearing.
“The long game is too long,” Ossoff quickly shot back. “It's going to take weeks, not months, to figure this out. If you don't figure this out, I don't think you're cut out for this job.”
The postmaster general told senators that Georgia's postal services should return to normal within 60 days and that 11Alive continues to track the data. The latest figures from the Postal Service show that while on-time delivery rates for first-class mail have improved overall, only 37% of single-pack mail is delivered on time.
Meanwhile, Herzog raised his concerns with customer service and shared the email with 11Alive, which stated that the Postal Service “under federal law is not responsible for any claims arising from the loss, miscarriage, or inadvertent transmission of letters or mail.” He was told that he was specifically excluded from the program. For items that were not insured at the time of mailing. ”
“One, it can be frustrating, being told to stop complaining. And two, you want to avoid future problems instead of focusing on what the problem starts with.” If you do, you'll have to pay for more expensive services,''' Herzog said.
11Alive will continue to hold postmasters accountable for the schedules presented.
