PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A Portsmouth mother says she has been unable to access her mailbox for weeks after losing her mail keys, leaving her without important documents and prompting her to seek help from a U.S. senator.
Unique Reid said she lost the keys to her London Oaks apartment mailbox in early December and immediately began trying to replace them.
Since then, she says, she has been locked out of her mailbox with no clear timeline for a solution.
Reid said the lack of access has affected critical parts of her life, including mail related to her son, who is autistic, his medical appointments, and other personal documents.
“Important mail about my son, doctor’s appointments, about tax papers supposed to be coming in the mail,” Reid said.
Reid said she contacted the U.S. Postal Service, worked with her property manager, and repeatedly tried calling both local and national USPS phone numbers, but received no response.
“I contacted USPS Postal Service, went to my landlord, talked to her,” Reid said. “She stayed in there with me for about two hours trying to contact the post office on the phone. Called the 1-800 number, called the main post office number,
no response.”
WTKR News 3 reached out to the United States Postal Service for clarification. In a statement, USPS said:
"The Postal Service will install new locks and provide new keys for customers residing at this complex who submit a request at the Post Office and pay for a new key. Once a new lock is installed, the customer can pick up the new mailbox key from the Postal Service. Until then, the customer can pick up her mail at the local Post Office. We greatly value the continued support from our customers..."
Despite that guidance, Reid said a month has passed, and she still does not have access to her mailbox.
“It’s still been hectic,” she said.
Frustrated, Reid took the issue a step further and contacted U.S. Sen. Mark Warner’s office. She said Warner’s office responded, telling her that a staff member had been assigned to her case and would contact USPS on her behalf.
When asked how it felt to receive that response, Reid said it was a relief.
Reid said she hopes the issue will be resolved soon, especially with tax season approaching.
“I really do need them because my W-2s are coming in that mailbox and I need them,” she said.
WTKR News 3 will continue to follow this story as Reid awaits a resolution.
