‘My Flag is Up!’ Are Carriers Ignoring Your Outgoing Mail in Tyler, TX?

Some Tyler, Texas residents recently shared their personal issues with certain mail carriers ignoring their outgoing mail--even when their "flag was up" on the mailbox.

Have you found this to be true?

I haven't personally experienced this. Then again, I rarely send outgoing mail in my mailbox. I usually either handle all my business-related matters online or I drop off letters and other personal correspondence at the post office or drop them in a blue box somewhere around town.

Recently, in an online social media group, quite a few Tyler residents--and others from other surrounding East Texas communities--say they've been perplexed at noticing that their mail carrier just leaves their mail in there and/or stack new mail on top of whatever was in there. Sometimes they even lower the mailbox flag, too.

So, why do some mail carriers take the outgoing mail while some just seem to ignore it altogether?

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A recent transplant to the Tyler area was baffled when she noticed this happening on a regular basis. So, she posed the question to other Tyler residents to see if they'd had the same thing happen to them. Their responses were interesting in varied:

Some Tyler residents said they'd NEVER had this happen to them.

Others said it used to, but they actually waiting to speak with their mail carrier to ask them why. In some cases, the mail carrier agreed to take their outgoing mail with them from then on--which was nice.

Still others recommending the lady who posed the question call the post office to ask about it, as they'd not had that experience. Another commenter said she already had done so and...I learned something new:

Apparently, U.S. Postal Service mail carriers aren't required to take our outgoing mail. Many do as a courtesy, though.

Some people made comments that, as sad as they were to read, brought up some solid points.

We've been hearing more stories of porch pirating and mail theft, as of late. Certainly we are NOT suggesting its the mail carriers doing engaging in these criminal activities.

At the same time, anyone could drive or walk by and take your outgoing mail with them.

A few Tyler residents shared their own experiences with this very thing and suggested people take extra precautions and just go drop off your mail yourself--particularly if it contains account information or personal notes you don't want shared with the world.

Have you had experiences you'd like to share? Do let us know.