District Manager Ingland,

 

My name is Mark Jeffreys and my wife, Caroline and I have recently moved to a new house in Tuttle, Oklahoma, 1235 Deer Ridge, in the Deer Ridge addition.  The house we purchased is a new house but the house was on the market for quite some time in the Deer Ridge addition in Tuttle, Oklahoma.

 

We currently are not receiving mail due to our house having a single mailbox rather than a mandated dual mailbox for the area in our neighborhood.  I will explain in this letter appeal and in a video why it seems we are caught in the middle of a dispute between the USPS in Tuttle, Oklahoma and the developer / builders in the home addition we currently live in Tuttle.

 

My wife and I noticed after several days we were not receiving any mail to our new address.  I went to the Tuttle Post Office to find out why we are not receiving our mail and the postal clerk explained to us that our mail was being held due to the fact that we had a single mailbox in front of our house rather than a double mailbox, shared with our neighbor. This was news to my wife and I so I checked with our builder, Jimmy Williams, he was not aware of any situation that would cause our mail to not be delivered.   

 

I have met several times with the Postmaster, Michael Morris of which, Mr. Morris promised to look into the situation and call me to update the situation. After five visits to the Tuttle Post Office, I still never received a phone call from Mr. Morris and when I did visit with him at the post office, he was not very helpful and the situation seemed more like an issue with the builders and developers that was being taken out on the homeowner and USPS customer.  I really did not understand why we, as the homeowner and a USPS customer, were suffering because of a situation between the USPS and the developers / builders.  

 

Look, I totally understand what the USPS is trying to accomplish with the growth mandate initiatives for new developments.  But, the issue is with the developer / builders, not with the USPS customer.  It is not a fair situation to hold the USPS customer’s mail as a hostage because of the lack of action by the developer / builders for any mandate that has been executed by the USPS for any neighborhood.  Why not penalize the developer / builder with a fine or some type of restriction on the developer / builder?  The USPS customers have nothing to do with the arrangements and agreements between the USPS and the developer / builder for any home location.

 

I offered to help Mr. Morris with the two box situation with the current builders in our development but Mr. Morris wanted me to mind my own business and not get involved. I am a University Coach at SNU in Bethany, Oklahoma and I rely heavily on the postal service for some of my recruiting elements.

 

I have engaged in multiple conversations with Mr. Morris’ boss, Mr. Holmes and both continue to go back to an agreement that was dated in September of 2023 that requires newly built homes to have dual mailboxes due to the growth factors in communities.

 

Our home, built by Jimmy Williams Homes, was in fact a new home but the home was built prior to September 2023, prior to the mandate for the postal growth initiative.  Our home that we purchased in March of 2024 sat empty and unsold prior to September 2023 and had a single mailbox built in front of the home.  Our builder told us he was not aware of any mandate and the home was in place and finished prior to the September 2023 mandate. 

 

Currently, several residents that have a single mailbox in our addition are currently receiving their mail with no issues.

 

As you can see in this video -  

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We as the homeowner and postal customer are caught in the middle and not receiving our mail.  I understand the mandate for dual mailboxes and the objective to control costs.  But, I did an analysis as you will see at the end of the appeal video, to deliver our mail to the current single mailboxes in place at our residence and our neighbor to our north on Deer Ridge, the cost savings per year would be $23.60 per year.  I would be more than happy to make a payment to the USPS for $23.60 per year to maintain our current mailbox situation.  Just a little over $230 for 10 years additional cost for the USPS delivering our mail to the current mailbox at our home vs. the thousands of dollars it is going to cost both myself and my neighbor to build an unnecessary dual mailbox.  This is why I am asking for you to grant us an exception to the 2023 mandate for dual mailboxes.  Please.

 

I have been very respectful and represented myself as professional towards Mr. Morris and Mr. Holmes.  Please, help us in this situation.  Our mail is vital to our occupations, our livelihood and our personal lives.  The amount of time that is going to be saved by not traveling an additional 20 yards to go from our neighbor’s mailbox to our current mailbox in place will result in pennies on the dollar over decades. 

 

District Manager Ingland, we are innocent victims of our mail held as a hostage because of a mandate we as the homeowner and the builder knew nothing about when our home was built.  Can we please start getting our mail?

 

Thank you for your time looking at this situation.  After reading this appeal letter and watching the video, please contact me anytime if you have any questions or concerns.

 

Thank you for your time,

 

 Mark

 

 Mark A. Jeffreys
Head Men’s and Women’s Bowling Coach
Southern Nazarene University
Bethany, Oklahoma  73008
405-313-9558
mjeffreys@mail.snu.edu