HOUSTON – Stuffed and overflowing mailboxes at Houston area post offices have customers concerned the postal service is putting their mail and personal information at risk.
Mail was practically spilling out of the blue mailboxes outside of the Julius Melcher Post Office on Timmons when we stopped by and customers here say this is common.
"I don't know if they're not emptying them or if they just don't have adequate boxes," one customer told us.
"Should have been emptied 30 minutes ago, maybe 45 minutes ago, so I'm a little surprised that it's full right now," another customer said.
A viewer snapped pictures a week earlier and wrote, "Over and over when I drive up to place mail in their outside mail boxes they are overflowing to the point mail spills out."
On our third visit to the post office, we found a supervisor emptying the boxes.
"Some customers are stuffing packages inside these boxes. I've been out here about six or seven times a day and a lot of customers are stuffing Amazon boxes, large things inside," said the supervisor.
In a statement, a U.S. Postal Service spokesperson wrote:, "We truly regret any inconvenience this situation has caused. Now that this situation has been brought to our attention, we will monitor this collection box hourly."
Postal employees say if you do notice that the mailbox is already full, don't just try to shove more mail in. It's not convenient, but they say you should park, go inside and drop your mail off in person.
"No one's supposed to mess with the mail," a customer told Local 2.
But these days it's just not a risk worth taking.