(WSVN) - You probably get your mail delivered to your home, but does the postal service have to deliver your mail to you? Some neighbors weren’t getting delivery, so they sent the question to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
Nelson loved living in New Jersey. But he loved something more.
Nelson Sobrino: “It was my dream to move to Florida. It was my dream to live in a farm.”
His dream came true after Nelson and his wife Zoila bought a farm down in South Dade with 32 different fruit trees, two horses and several beehives.
Nelson Sobrino: “They produce a lot of honey, and we sell that. And it’s 100% pure honey.”
That’s sweet. What’s sour is his mail.
Nelson Sobrino: “So now you can get access to any boxes that you want, because they are open.”
In some rural areas of South Dade, mail is not delivered to your home. It’s to cluster boxes where people like Nelson come pick it up.
Instead, crooks ripped the boxes open and stole everything.
Nelson Sobrino: “They took medicines. They took letters. They took credit cards.”
The mailboxes were a half mile away from his farm. Since there is no delivery here anymore, Zoila or Nelson and hundreds of other people have to drive to the nearest post office to get their mail.
Nelson Sobrino: “We have to travel 26 miles round trip every single day to pick up whatever it was supposed to be there.”
Nelson contacted the postal service to get the cluster boxes repaired or replaced.
Nelson Sobrino: “Refused to do it because they said, ‘This is the fourth time,’ and they said, ‘If we fix it, it’s going to be broken again.'”
Nelson’s solution? Just pick up the mail once or twice a week to avoid the 26-mile round trip. Not a good idea, he was told.
Nelson Sobrino: “‘If you don’t come to pick up the mail in three days, we’re going to send them back.’ I said, ‘What? What did you say? You’re going to send my mail back because you cannot deliver it to me?'”
For four months, the mail hasn’t been delivered to these boxes. Nelson can’t get it fixed and can’t believe it.
Nelson Sobrino: “We are not third-class citizens. You know, I pay my taxes like everybody else, and I believe we deserve the same service as everybody else does.”
Well, Howard, legally, are you entitled to mail delivery service?
Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “Yes, you are. Some cluster boxes are maintained by condo or homeowner associations, and some are maintained by the post office, like in this case. If it’s broken, they have to fix it or replace it. If they won’t or move too slowly, contact your congressperson or U.S. senator.”
We contacted the U.S. Postal Service, and they were great.
Debra Fetterly told us they have ordered new cluster boxes and are putting them in a safer, well-lit location within the general area.
In the meantime, they repaired the cluster boxes so Nelson and his neighbors don’t have to drive to the post office.
Nelson Sobrino: “Nothing was done for four months, so I decided to call Help Me Howard. And in a week, the job was done.”
Nelson is relieved, really relieved.
Nelson Sobrino: “You have no idea. I’m going to show you how happy we are.”
Nelson wanted his hundreds of neighbors to know how their problem was solved. Something we’ve never seen before.
Nelson Sobrino: “We will make a sign that we’re going to put over there for everybody to know who got it done. We are very happy. Everybody’s very happy around here.”
Thanks for the sign, Nelson. And messing with the mail is not the best way for a criminal to make a living. It’s a federal crime, and you don’t want to have the Feds tracking you down.
If you believe someone has stolen your mail or messed with your mail, the link to contact the postal service to notify them is under this Help Me Howard story.
A problem got you licked? Ready to mail it in? No. Deliver it to us, so we can stamp it “solved.”
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
If you mail is stolen or mailbox was vandalized contact the postal service.
USPIS.gov
1-877-876-2455
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