Mail bills early beginning in ‘26

By Lois Mittino Gray

After Christmas means the holiday bills start coming to the house in droves. Posey County residents have been noticing that postal delivery times are much slower now and often result in late fees when they arrive past due. Be forewarned that incoming bills need to be paid well in advance of the due date these days, allowing for the heightened amount of time necessary for delivery.

Mail dropped in the blue boxes and in slots in the local post offices goes to Evansville and then to Louisville for processing by automatic sorters now. The postmark on it may not represent the actual date the piece of mail was in their possession, but rather the date it went through the sorter. Some may sit in the post office all weekend. Be aware that if you have something that needs a postmark by a certain date, you can always request that the clerk behind the desk postmark it by hand right in front of you and that is permissible.

Mail that must get there on time can be sent registered or certified and require a signature upon receipt but there are additional fees involved. There are also mail courier services or express mail, but that can get pricey. Forever stamps start at $0.78 for standard letters (up to 1 oz), while postcards are $0.61, and large envelopes (flats) begin at $1.63; additional weight costs more ($0.29/oz for letters), and heavier packages use services like Priority Mail or Ground Advantage, with flat-rate options available for boxes.

Mount Vernon resident Debra Burdick is very interested in the new slower rate of mail delivery lately. She watched several YouTube videos made by the US Postal Service and says, “They are short and brief, but very informative on how mail is processed.”

Burdick is planning to conduct a local experiment for fun. “I plan to line up a bunch of my friends all over the country and send them a birthday card in a yellow envelope and mail them all on the same day. I’ll have them all postmarked at the counter and then see how long it takes to get them in hand. I have sisters in New Hampshire, San Francisco, and South Carolina and I want reports from all over from all of them and more!”

Be informed that if you do get a late fee because it took so long for your payment to get there, you can always call the recipient’s customer service number and ask to have the late fee lifted.

Most companies will readily do that, especially if you have a good credit rating and don’t ask often.