Green Run women illustrate vulnerability when mail delivery is interrupted
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Anxiety, inconvenience and late fees are just some of the costs that accumulated over two months for some seniors who rely on their U.S. Mail, but were not receiving it due to problems with their cluster mailbox.
Mary Cotton said the problem started when the mail stopped back in March. It was the main door on the back of her cluster mailbox on Sylvan Lane in Green Run.
'It was all the way up and I guess they couldn't get it down,' Cotton said. 'Somebody said it was jammed.'
A couple days later she thought the problem had been solved.
'[The door] was down, so I thought that the mail was being delivered,' Cotton said.
But no mail was being delivered for the next two months. Instead of the mail coming to her,Cotton had to go get it — six miles away to the post office on George Mason Drive near the courthouse.
'I have a bad knee,' Cotton said. 'Sometimes my legs hurt and I don't feel like driving, and gas is expensive, too.'
Cotton relies on the mail for her five different medications — blood pressure, thyroid, cholesterol and two digestive conditions.
At least Cotton can drive, unlike her neighbor across the street, Darlene Collins. She spent two months getting her mail 'with an Uber or Lyft,' paying for rides to get something that would otherwise be free.
And Collins was paying in other ways when her internet bill was delayed.
'They were saying they haven't got the payment,' Collins said. 'And I didn't know when it was due. So I had to pay a late fee because I didn't get my mail.'
It's unclear who made the repairs over the weekend, two months after mail delivery was interrupted and three days after Cotton contacted WAVY-TV.
Both women say the post office and the Green Run HOA blamed each other for the two months of inconvenience.
But it's clear who they are blaming.
'I blame the HOA because I paid them a fee, so they should [maintain the mailboxes],' Cotton said.
Collins agreed — 'I'm like, what are we paying our money for?'
10 On Your Side reached out to the head of the Green Run Homes Association and the United State Post Office but they did not immediately respond.
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