Lenoir City woman wants answers

LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WATE) — A Loudon County woman is asking what’s wrong with the United States Postal Service. She sent a package by priority mail to Kansas last month, but it was returned two weeks later, apparently, the carrier couldn’t read the address.

Carolyn Davis doesn’t understand why the package never got to her daughter. She said she carefully wrote the address of her daughter’s new home on the package. She sent her the package by priority mail. She paid $19.55 for second-day delivery. However, the package was returned to sender 14 days later.

“I mailed this on January 10. This is the receipt that I got. I took to the Lenoir City Post Office. It was supposed to be a two-day delivery, but they said they would deliver it on Monday the 13th,” said Davis.

She downloaded a postal tracking record of the package from the time it left Tennessee on January 10, a two-day weather delay in Atlanta, its trip to Wichita, and then its return to trip Tennessee on January 24.

“It says it didn’t arrive in Atlanta until January the 14th,” said Davis. “It should have been in my daughter’s hands by then.”

The package never got to her daughter once it arrived in Kansas eight days after leaving Tennessee.

“It arrived in Wichita on January 18 at 6:07 a.m.,” said Davis. “In less than two hours it was returned to sender.”

She went on to say that she had no idea why the package was returned. So, she reached out to the Post Office.

“They said they could not read the address that it was sent to,” said Davis.

She then contacted customer service. The first response she received said in part, “We appreciate your patience while we investigate this matter.” The next response said “Please accept our apology for any frustration and inconvenience caused.”

The final note on the tracking readout shows the package went to her daughter’s house on January 24.

“It says it was delivered in Wichita, Kansas,” said Davis. “It was delivered here in Lenoir City.”

6 News contacted the Postal Service. In a statement, we were told: “Research indicates the item was not delivered due to an issue regarding a loose dog and dog bite incident in the recipient’s immediate area.”

Davis said her daughter “does have dogs, but they’re kept inside the house, there is a fence around the home and the mailbox is outside of the fence.”

She explained that her problem is not the money spent on second-day delivery. It’s about issues with the postal service.

“If you’re working at a post office you surely would know how to deliver a package. I was shocked by their incompetence to put it lightly,” said Davis.

Once Davis got the old package back, she repackaged the contents and sent it by FedEx. She reports it arrived within a couple of days. The Postal Service said their office in Lenoir City will soon reach out to Davis to explain their side of the story. She hasn’t received a call yet.