ATLANTA — On March 1, Yasmin Ponder put a money order in her mailbox just like she always does. It was supposed to be her final payment on this particular account — something she could celebrate.
Instead, it turned into weeks of stress. She said the money order still has not reached its destination as of March 28.
"I've got the funds to make another payment, which I feel is unnecessary, but I still have other things coming in later," she told 11Alive. "What are we supposed to do?"
A friend eventually made the payment on her behalf with his credit card, but now, she has paid the bill twice. The second time included a late fee.
"When you start messing with my money, that's an issue for me. Somebody's got to do something," she said. "There seems to be no concern at all whatsoever."
At least half a dozen people emailed 11Alive with similar concerns about missing or late payments sent through the postal service.
"In some cases, it has taken over 25+ days for the mail to reach the billing location/destination," one viewer wrote. "It has caused me to incur late and canceled check fees, as well as possibly affecting my credit rating."
Another wrote that they mailed their monthly bills on February 27, but they didn't go through until March 22 once they had been charged several late fees and threatened with service disconnection.
"A lot of people are receiving bills with a due date that has already passed. Call them and let them know what's going on in your service area," said Taelore Hicks with the Better Business Bureau. "They can point you into the right direction of how to get that bill paid."
Hicks said communication is key in situations like this.
"If you're nervous that the bill won't get there on time, you can call your bank and let them know what situation is going on," she said. "Ask them if they can waive the stop payment fee, and then once they do that, you can call the company and tell them what's going on."
The BBB also recommends paying your bills online if you're experiencing mail delays. If you choose that option, it recommends double-checking that you're on a secure site and that you've typed the address correctly to avoid any potential scammers.
11Alive contacted USPS on Thursday morning with concerns over missing and late bill payments. As of 5:30 p.m., the agency had not yet responded.
Those experiencing delays or who have not received mail can contact the newsroom with your concerns as we continue to cover this story. Fill out our online form below, and someone from our news team will follow up with you.