Colonial Heights Shop Owner Says Mail Delays Are Hurting Her Business as Sen. Warner Presses for Answers

A small business owner in Colonial Heights says persistent mail delays are putting her finances at risk, and a U.S. senator is now calling on the Postal Service to face questions from the public.

Nicole Pegram, who owns Daffodil Boutique, said mail she places in a drop box often goes unconfirmed for a long time. "Whenever I take my mail and put it in the drop box, I've noticed that I won't receive a notification that my mail has been delivered for at least three to four weeks," she said. In one recent case, she said, it took two months for a piece of mail to reach its final destination.

The delays have had practical consequences. Pegram said she has received notices that her taxes were late, something she described as concerning. She has since stopped sending mail from the postal box at her business.

Pegram said the stakes are high for a company of her size. She said she is trying to pay taxes, water bills and power bills on time, and cannot absorb additional late fees. "This is something that needs to be fixed right away," she said.

Her experience appears not to be unique. After CBS 6 asked viewers to share their own mail problems, more than a dozen people responded with similar accounts of mail arriving weeks or even months late. One viewer said money had been taken from cards sent through the mail. She reported the theft to the USPS Inspector General but said she never received a response.

Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said he has joined other lawmakers in asking for a town hall where residents could raise their concerns. According to a representative of the Postal Service's Virginia District, the agency will not hold one, despite multiple requests. Warner criticized that decision. "It is not acceptable for the Postal Service to say they're not going to do a town hall," he said, adding that he is aware of an Inspector General investigation and other ongoing matters but believes his constituents deserve to hear from the agency.

Warner said the problems began roughly four years ago in Charlottesville and have since reached the greater Richmond area. He pointed to pay as part of the cause, saying it is hard to recruit people to Postal Service careers that once offered a path to the middle class.

Although Warner has previously criticized Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, he said he now believes DeJoy is doing a "good job" and is trying to turn the agency around.

Warner said he intends to see the matter resolved and to give constituents a chance to speak directly with postal officials. "Because this is a business, at the end of the day. It's got to be more service-oriented," he said. Pegram echoed the call for a conversation. "Something's not right," she said. "We need to get us all together and meet with them and sit down and talk, and see what's going on."