Can a mailman refuse to give you your mail if you are standing right there as he puts it in the mailboxes?

Yes he was right. He is required to deliver mail in the mailbox and is under no obligation to hand it to you personally. It is not his fault that you didn't have your mailbox key. Keep it on you next time.

They won't give you the package if they don't know who you are since they can be held liable for giving mail away to someone who it doesn't belong to. The issue is that they know people get their mail every day, and it is suspicious when someone is overly concerned about getting their mail before the mailbox is locked. You probably were just so concerned about the package that you made him suspicious. Plus, he doesn't have the time to sit and wait for you to go get your ID. If you had your ID with you he might have given it to you but the whole thing just looked suspicious to him. You should be glad that your mailman is so protective over ensuring that everybody gets their mail.

Add:

You need to do research. First off most UPS packages don't require signatures anymore. Besides that ALL UPS innovations packages are delivered by the post office. It is a discount service where UPS handles the package up to the last city and then USPS delivers it. None of these deliveries have signature requirements. Besides that, even if it was left in the lobby, my point stands because he took effort to make sure it was locked up when he saw it was left there. However, the more likely case is that UPS put a crappy description of the location (which they do all the time). Also, if the boxes are in the lobby of the apartment building, UPS would put that it was left in the lobby.

As for the issue of my argument that you should be glad he took care, you should. He wouldn't release it to a person that he didn't know, with no ID, and without a mailbox key. You should be THRILLED that he didn't give you the package since if he did give you the package he would have been breaking federal law. You may be aggravated, but if USPS policy was to give it to anybody who says it is theirs, there would be tons of missing packages.

First of all... yes, he has the right to deny you the mail if you cannot prove your identity (as mail theft is a federal offense, and he is bound by his position to prevent it when possible). And no, he doesn't have to stand around waiting for you to go get an ID... and in fact, in most apartment building, there is a policy of no key, no mail, and the carrier could get fired for violating that policy.

Second... the package was supposed to be signed for per UPS requirement, as I understand your post. UPS is no the US Postal Service, nor are they affiliated with USPS. Once a package leaves USP handling and is passed on the USPS handling, all bets are off.

Third... your carrier likely delivers to several hundred addresses every day, many of which are apartments. The odds of him remembering the exact circumstances of delivering *your* package are slim to none. I doubt he lied... he probably simply assumed that it was a standard delivery and he left it in the standard place.

Have some fun with your junk mail instead. Open the mail,get the postage paid envelope out,put some papers in from other junk mail you have gotten and send it back to them. That way they are charged for it. The mailman is right,the only mail that can be returned is first class mail. All the mail you refused before just got tossed in the trash at the post office.

First of all I apologize on behalf of the National Association of Letter Carriers if you were treated rudely. As far as actual rules go the Letter Carrier was correct in not giving you the parcel if you did not have ID at the time. I know that's not what you wanted to hear but he was covering his own butt and yours in the long run. Should this have gone smoother? No doubt about it. But please try to have some pity in your heart. At this time of year Letter Carriers are running around like chickens without heads because of holiday volume and each Letter Carrier can have over 1000 customers to deliver to every day. Don't worry I'm sure your Letter Carrier will get his sanity back soon. LOL. Merry Christmas!

HELLO I WAS LOOKING FOR MY MAIL FOR 8 DAYS I ORDERED AN PRODUCT OFF LINE NEVER GOT THE PACKAGE SO I CALLED THE POST OFFICE BECAUSE I CHECKED THE TRACKING AND IT SAID IT WAS DELIVERED ,SO I SPOKE TO THE MAILMAN AND HE SAID HE GAVE THE PACKAGE TO SOME GUY THAT WAS KNOCKING ON THE DOOR WELL WE DIDN'T KNOW THE GUY AND I GUESS HE TOOK THE PACKAGE WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MY PACKAGE?

Actually they can get in trouble for not putting in the box even if you are standing there with your hand out. It is postal regulation that mail is to be delivered to a proper receptacle.

No worries the federal postal service is filled with people over the age of 40 with IQs sub 30 and the younger people hired have IQs sub 20 so it makes sense that they'd find a way to not only mess up your delivery but also inconvenience you as well. Also asking for advice from yahoo answers will only get you more of the same just so you know for future reference. Visit 4chan.org for all your advice and answers.

P.S. Top contributors comment is retarded and this is mfw I read it > http://www.aura-core.com/_upload/111209/4real.jpg

hes correct, messing with someones mail/tampering is a federal crime. after he drops off the mail, the intended recipient or whoever picks up the mail is responsible. basically hes culpable if he gives it to you directly, you could fake an ID for all he knows.

He was right. His job is to fill mailboxes. His job isn't to hands you your mail and verify you are who you say you are.