ATLANTA — Amid countless delays with metro Atlanta mail, a U.S. Representative told 11Alive he needs answers from the Postmaster General.
"Are you going to degrade your service while you're upgrading your product? That's not the way to run a business," Rep. Collins said on Tuesday, calling out the United States Postal Service.
Hundreds of residents have reached out to 11Alive in the past few days, seeking help with missing mail. The congressman said his office is also fielding calls from those needing assistance.
"It's not just personal. It's down to businesses -- small businesses -- who rely on the mail, either to send out their bills or to receive their payments," Collins said. "And for people that are sick, that are homebound, that are looking for their prescriptions to come in so that they can make sure that they stay on their medicine, they need their medication to come in too."
It's not the first time Congressman Collins has taken up the issue. In December, he sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, cosigned by 12 members of the Georgia delegation. That letter laid out concerns of missing and misdelivered mail as well as reports "about the failure of USPS to respond to complaints with action -- and not just words."
"Basically, what we got back was a seven-page form letter," Collins said of USPS' response. "I could have cut and pasted it probably from their manual or their handbook."
"No specific answers on anything other than the fact that they said that they had a $40 billion investment for upgrades and Georgia was next on the list," he added.
Fast forward to Feb. 24, when Georgia's new regional processing and distribution center, which consolidated services for centers around the state, opened in Palmetto.
On March 2, 11Alive began tracking complaints of delays, and the newsroom has repeatedly asked USPS for answers since, including requesting an interview with Postmaster DeJoy. The USPS declined that interview request on Monday.
Collins told 11Alive he now wants to see firsthand what's happening at the Palmetto facility, in addition to also requesting a meeting with DeJoy.
"I would like to have a face to face meeting," he added. "Apparently, he is out of town until April. So, I hope he has a cell phone or some way to communicate by phone, because this is becoming a real issue."
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.