HOUSTON — Since December, KHOU 11 has reported on the mail and package delays that have plagued the Houston area.
At first, it appeared nearly all of the delays stemmed from a sorting facility just south of Houston in Missouri City. Now, many USPS customers tell KHOU 11 that packages are also getting stuck for weeks on end at a processing center in north Houston.
For weeks, KHOU 11 has been following the story about delays of packages through the Missouri City USPS processing center. Have you been affected? If so, email us at mailproblems@khou.com. If you have photos of the tracking, please include that, too!
Ashley Taylor is one of the customers impacted by the northside delays.
“I have probably $400 in packages right now that are sitting there,” Taylor explained. “I ordered this stuff about three weeks ago and I was hoping to get it all before we take our family trip.”
USPS tracking data shows that Taylor’s packages arrived at Houston’s northside facility on Jan. 10 and haven’t moved since.
“And it’s frustrating because when you try to call customer service, it’s like a circle," she said. "There’s no one you can contact who has any communication with anyone else who knows what’s going on."
Taylor is among the thousands of people who have reached out to KHOU 11 about the severe mail delays in Houston. Of those customers, many are starting to sound the alarm about Houston’s northside facility.
“It’s not just Missouri City," one viewer wrote. "Please look into the NORTH HOUSTON hub as well."
On Friday, another Houston resident told us about his Tom Brady trading card that was stuck at the sorting facility in north Houston.
"My card is insured, but I don’t want insurance," Tom Villafone said. "I don’t want the money, I want the card."
The north Houston Processing and Distribution Center used to be the city’s primary USPS hub. However, in a previous statement, the postal service said it was transitioning the facility into a “regional center” and adding a new local center in Missouri City. All the changes are said to be part of a network modernization plan that will introduce “state-of-the-art” technology and process mail faster.
Customers in the Houston area tell us the “updates” have only caused problems so far.
“I would like to know why the plan is taking so long and what they’re doing to get our packages delivered … because if all my packages are going through here in the future, I’m concerned,” Taylor said.
On Monday, U.S. Rep Al Green will hold a news conference with an update on the mail delays. He'll be with people who have been affected by it. We will stream that live on KHOU.com and KHOU 11+.
Tracking the mail: Our stories on the postal delays
- Dec. 13, 2023: 'Processed as they are received' | In statement, USPS addresses issues at Houston-area post office
- Dec. 15, 2023: Man's medication stuck at Missouri City USPS sorting facility for a week and counting
- Dec. 16, 2023: New Hampshire woman joins list of people frustrated about packages stuck at Missouri City USPS sorting facility
- Dec. 19, 2023: 'Free my mail!' | Congressman looks into Missouri City postal facility with reported package delays
- Jan. 10, 2024: Congressman Al Green to tour Missouri City USPS facility with hopes of resolving mail delay issues
- Jan. 10, 2024: Here's why the post office says your mail is stuck
- Jan. 18, 2024: Package with $1,000 item stuck at Missouri City USPS processing center, customer says
- Jan. 19, 2024: 'We need to step it up and figure this out' | In one day, hundreds of people contacted KHOU 11 about mail delays
- Jan. 19, 2024: Congressman Al Green receives report from USPS Office of Inspector General on mail delay issues
- Jan. 19, 2024: Bride-to-be still waiting on wedding dress just days before big day
- Jan. 20, 2024: Candle shop owner worried about reputation after customers' orders stuck at USPS processing centers in Houston