Poonawala said he went into his own pocket to pay $960 for repairs, “I really needed to get it cleaned up because it was pretty nasty.”
The USPS told NBC 5 Responds in an email, “The U.S. Postal Service delivers to over 156 million addresses, six days a week and we take great care to protect both postal property and customers’ personal property. Unfortunately, rare instances of property damage do occur. We apologize for any inconvenience this incident may have caused for our customers. The Postal Service is governed by specific guidelines regarding tort claims. In this case, we are working with the customer to resolve the situation and have provided all necessary information and documents for filing a claim. Local postal management will continue to work with the customer, within existing guidelines and regulations, in order to reach a fair and equitable resolution.”
After NBC 5 reached out to the Postal Service, Poonawala said it delivered the form Poonawala needed to fill out: Standard Form 95.
In a letter responding to the claim, the USPS wrote it couldn’t continue processing it.
The U.S. Postal Service told us it doesn’t discuss tort claims, but someone would be in touch with Poonawala.
Poonawala said he learned the invoice he submitted needed to clearly show he already paid the repair crew. He’s now working to get USPS proof of the payment.