PORTSMOUTH (WAVY) – Artura Cunningham knows that not all mail is junk mail, and it’s the important pieces that concern her the most.
She’s lived on Columbia Street for about two years now, and is still trying to get a mailbox key.
Cunningham said the previous resident in her place took the mail key with them. She asked her landlord for a copy when she moved in. He sent her to the Post Office.
Cunningham said she has had no progress getting a key. So she has to either run out to her box when the carrier arrives, or have the post office hold her mail for pickup. Sometimes, she has her mail sent to family members.
“I have to have my mail delivered in Chesapeake at my mom’s house,” Cunningham said, “and also at my cousin’s house, so I have mail flying all over the place.”
Either way, it’s a major hassle and inconvenience.
“It’s important stuff,” she said. “I’ve had W-2s that’s came to this mailbox, I have checks that came to this mailbox, I’ve had my water bill, my light bill, and I’m not able to get it.”
10 On Your Side contacted the United States Postal Service Tuesday on behalf of Cunningham. A spokesman said “Customers were notified when locks were changed that new keys are available for pick up at the Post Office. The customer will have to bring an ID to verify the address is correct.”
But Cunningham said she has done just that – and more than once – with the most recent time just three weeks ago.
“They haven’t done anything for two years,” she said, “and I still don’t have a key.”
