Flyers on my mailbox

[sperman]

Over the last year or two I've started getting more and more flyers stuck under the flag on my mailbox. It has reached the point that I now get at least 2 a week. To make it worse, they don't always stay on the mailbox, so you see them blowing around the neighborhood all the time.

Is there any way to stop this? I know it's illegal for them to put them into the mailbox, but is sticking it on the outside of the mailbox OK?

[Merlin Orr]

File charges for littering and trespass on whoever distributes or has them distributed....?

[Classic_jon]

Over the last year or two I've started getting more and more flyers stuck under the flag on my mailbox. It has reached the point that I now get at least 2 a week. To make it worse, they don't always stay on the mailbox, so you see them blowing around the neighborhood all the time.

Is there any way to stop this? I know it's illegal for them to put them into the mailbox, but is sticking it on the outside of the mailbox OK?

From my understanding, It is illegal for anyone but the postal service to use the USPS mailbox. This is why many rural newspaper routes put up their own tubes to deliver the papers. Turn them into your local postmaster/post office for illegal use of USPS/government property. They have to investigate. They may not do much but it will be a pain for the company that is doing it. You may also contact the local non-emergency number for the local police and ask them what the local laws are on such things.

"Our regulations cover what can and can’t be placed in a curbside mailbox or mailbox outside of your house, which generally includes only mail that has been sent through the USPS. However, our regulations don’t govern what can be placed in a mail slot on your door."

From here: http://www.usps.com/receive/mailboxstandards.htm

[sperman]

There was a new one on the mailbox tonight. This guy was a real winner. He forgot to include any contact information.

[Corey]

i get a bunch of those, mainly lawn services canvassing neighborhoods for business. most are usually hung on my storm door handle or wedged in the door so they fall out when I open it

[Joe4d]

I despise these things, we also used to get the baggies of junk adds thrown on your driveway or yard in a drive by, what really pissis me off is the securtity threat, I go to trouble of using light timers, stopping the mail when I am gone for an extended time then these a holes throw a big pile of these things in your driveway letting everyone know you are not home.

[old506]

Last winter I was sitting in the living room reading. It was dark outside, about 5 or 6 o'clock, and in the back of my mind I thought that I heard footsteps but it didn't register until latter. I heard (what I thought was) someone trying to open or jimmy the knob on the front door. I immediately went to the fridge (where all the good stuff is) and was ready for whatever I needed to be ready for. It ended up being the boy scouts leaving something. They stuck a flier in between the jam and the door instead of on the knob or somewhere else and in doing so they hit the bolt which made the sound like someone trying to jimmy the lock. I thought that I kind of over reacted, preparing for the door to be kicked in when the bad guy realized that the door was locked. But, after talking to my wife she thought the same thing and I felt better. I don't know why they thought it was o.k. to go to people's doors in the dark, fiddle around, and not ring the bell?