The USPS Can *Legally* Hold Your Amazon Package For Ransom?!

So I learned something today: the USPS can legally hold your Amazon package for ransom! Uh… WHAT?!?

Yeah, you heard me. The post office can “steal” the packages that Amazon puts in your mailbox and this is completely LEGAL.

Package in mailbox

I shipped a package to someone else on Prime Day and received a notification that it was delivered. I made sure to tell the recipient to look for the item when they got home. They got home and checked the mailbox – and NO PACKAGE! Huh??

They then proceeded to tell me that they had heard the USPS will take packages out of the mailbox that Amazon has delivered. That didn’t sound right to me. Doesn’t that punish the customer, NOT Amazon?

I was ready to report the package stolen, but the recipient wanted to check with their local post office first. Sure enough, the package was there. They just had to pay a $3.66 RANSOM to get the package back.

I was FUMING! Again – this punishes the customer, NOT AMAZON. Apparently Amazon is well aware that this is happening, but they aren’t training their delivery people on the correct procedures.

I contacted Amazon to complain and they quickly put a $10.00 credit on my account. That’s fair, but it certainly doesn’t solve the problem.

I couldn’t find much info online about this, but I did find this news article that gives more information on the problem:

USPS Removes Package from Mailbox, Charges Fee to Get it Back

Perhaps we all should put special delivery instructions in our Amazon accounts, reminding them NOT to use the mailboxes?