Dundalk Residents Still Enduring Mail Delivery Problems

DUNDALK, MD — For quite some time, Dundalk residents have not been receiving their mail from the USPS. Maryland State Del. Ric Metzgar, who represents Dundalk and southeast Baltimore County, demanded accountability at a press conference held this week outside the Dundalk post office.

Maryland Delegate Robin Grammer and State Senator Johnny Ray Salling also spoke at the press conference about the surprising situation. They've heard from their constituents about the difficulties they've endured in receiving their mail in a timely manner, if at all.

“This is inexcusable,” Salling said. “People should be mad -- they should be irate.”

“I could stand here for hours recounting the stories of residents who have been impacted by the chronic failures of the United States Postal Service,” Grammer added.

Some of the most concerning problems stemming from mail delivery issues are undelivered medication and payments for mortgages being lost then the home being foreclosed on.

“I got a Christmas card that my wife and I mailed late November and we got it back four days ago -- that it was undeliverable,” Metzgar said.

The lawmakers want change at both the federal level and at local post offices. Salling even volunteered to deliver people's mail if it meant no one else loses their home or lifesaving medicine.

A spokesperson for the USPS shared a statement with FOX 45 News that read:

"Delivery of first-class mail, marketing mail and periodicals showed improvement nationwide in May as postal service operations continue to recover from challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. While we are encouraged by the progress we have made on service performance, there is more work to be done. We remain fully committed to continue addressing customers’ concerns as we emerge for the pandemic."

The spokesperson also said that the American Rescue Plan Act expanded employee leave during the pandemic, which has impacted staffing on occasion.

In August, Patch reported that numerous Dundalk residents were not been receiving their mail. Other Baltimore County residents have noticed delays, too. Fed up with the lack of service, Lanis Gray went to the post office himself. At first, he was told that if he didn't receive any mail, it's because there wasn't any mail for him. On the second visit, he found his mail still sitting there at the post office.

"I'm having to come here every single day to pick up my mail, which I think is ridiculous," Gray told WBAL-TV.

Dee Schroeder, a retired postal worker, told WBAL-TV that she hasn't received her mail in approximately a week. Some people are waiting on unemployment checks. Maike Hannah's grandson receives his medication via the postal service and she grew concerned about any delays in shipping it to her home. So she gave up on the USPS and switched the delivery service to ensure its timely arrival.