Problem Solver: Address Change Corrected

Changing your address is usually an easy step. With a short form or a click of a button on-line your address can be updated with the U.S. Postal Service. But when one Upstate woman's mail kept going to the wrong home after she changed her address she called on 7 On Your Side for help. News Channel -7's Dianne Derby got the mix-up cleared up and lets you know how to make sure your mail gets delivered to you. It's a 7 On Your Side Problem Solver.

Last October Lisa Edwards changed her address for the second time in a year and a half. For the first month she didn't have any problems getting her mail...

"And then all of a sudden it started being forwarded to my sister at a different address even though the names were different," said Edwards. "She's never been married and my middle name is her last name and that's why it was sent."

Edwards says one of the worst parts about it was that she wasn't getting her child support checks.

 

"My mail would be sent back to the Clerk of Court which in turn would automatically change the address even though it was wrong and then I would have to prove who I was," said Edwards.

So she handed over her problem to 7 On Your Side.

"I needed help," said Edwards. "It's been over 6 months and I've been to the post office three times, I've called the 800 number twice, I've been to the Clerk of Court three times."

When we contacted U.S. Postal Service spokesperson Harry Spratlin he e-mailed us a statement saying her address change had been corrected. He said, "This is an on-going case with multiple changes of address, going back to October, with the latest one in February. Unfortunately, the complexity of the situation and timing involved caused there to be some miscommunications in the system in pinning down and matching up her proper name and address."

But Edwards says she didn't make a change in February. Instead, she says that month she called customer service who gave her a confirmation number that it was changed...but it never happened.

 

"I think it's very interesting that they're just trying to blame it on me but that just verifies the problem," Edwards said.

But thanks to 7 On Your Side her problem finally is solved.

"I may not see my sister as much but at least it will be over with," said Edwards.

7 On Your side wanted to make sure this problem also was cleared up with the Clerk of Court's office in Spartanburg. On Monday afternoon the office sent us an e-mail stating the address had been corrected.

The USPS spokesperson says when you make a change of address a confirmation letter is sent to both the old and new address...so look out for that in the mail to make sure it is correct. If you are having problems you can always call the USPS customer service number at 1-800-275-8777.