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CHANTILLY, Va. - We all depend on mail service and it is really important at this time of year with important tax forms on the way. But for one family in Virginia, the mail was simply lost for January and part of February. Not only are they missing tax forms, but medical reimbursement checks as well.
In Paul Combs' quiet Chantilly neighborhood, the mail usually comes on time and often with a hello from the mailman. But his problem came when he needed his mail kept at the post office in Chantilly while he went out of town to care for a family member. However, when he returned, his mail ended up missing.
"I'm very, very upset to say the least," he said.
No one seems to know where Combs' mail is. Was it lost? Thrown away? Combs said he is missing important tax forms, several vintage records he collects and medical reimbursement checks valued at thousands of dollars.
Combs said he has pressed postal officials.
"Their response wasn't that optimistic," Combs said. "It was more to the effect of - we are looking for it. We are sorry. We have never seen anything like this happen before. The only way I get any response is that I call them on a daily basis."
The U.S. Postal Service eventually contacted FOX 5 late Wednesday afternoon by apologizing for the incident and saying it plans to do right by their customer, which includes reimbursement for items lost as well as fraud protection. Finding Combs' mail also remains a priority.
Combs said he is worried about the sensitive information that was contained in some of his mail and he is asking the Postal Service to pay for his fraud identity protection for life. He also hopes they have not given up on the search for his lost mail.