Residents in Cathedral City neighborhood dealing with vandalized “cluster” mailbox

It is a problem impacting a growing number of homeowners around the valley.

“Cluster mailboxes” are being left broken and useless, after being targeted by thieves stealing mail.

Cathedral City resident Susan Fournelle talked about her neighborhood mailbox, which is no longer usable after thieves broke into it in April.

“It’s annoying and its just a great inconvenience to all of us,” said Fournelle.

The mailbox is used by about ten homeowners who live on Bay Hill Court.

Susan and her neighbors believe thieves were looking for passes for the Coachella Festival sent to recipients by mail.

With their mailbox broken, the residents now have to go to the post office on Date Palm Drive to receive their mail

“It’s a real inconvenience to have to go everyday to the post office and pick up our mail,” said Fournelle.

The postmaster in Cathedral City says he will hold their mail daily for up to 90 days, providing time for the mailbox to be repaired or replaced.

But the homeowners say they were surprised when they received letters from the postmaster, informing them they own the mailbox, and that fixing or replacing it was their responsibility, even though they’re not part of a homeowners association.

The residents who live on Bay Hill Court tell us this is the third time the mailboxes have been broken into in the past five years.

Not liking the response from the Cathedral City postmaster, the residents asked CBS Local 2 to look into the issue of busted mailboxes, which is impacting a number of people around the valley.

People living on Salva Court in Indio had their mailbox broken into, as did homeowners living elsewhere in Indio and La Quinta.

The postmaster in Cathedral City turned down our request to comment on camera, and referred us to a USPS media relations representative at the district office in San Diego.

She confirmed official postal service policy.

It indicates that homeowners, whether members of an HOA or not, do in fact, collectively own cluster mailboxes, and are responsible for maintenance and replacement.

We were also told that when building homes, a developer and the postal service will agree on how and where mail will be delivered, and that changes can’t be made to the arrangement unless homeowners and the postal service agree to make changes.

“The developer installs the mailboxes at a location that is agreed upon between the postal service and the developer, and at that point, those mailboxes belong to whoever buys the house,” said USPS spokesperson Eva M. Jackson.

Realistically then, there are three options for the residents with the busted box, along with anyone else facing a similar dilemma.

Together, they can buy a new cluster mailbox.

In this case, the cost would be about $1,500.

Or, they could use post office boxes, or, have their mail sent to a friend or a relative nearby.

To deter mail theft, the USPS spokesperson says all homeowners should remove delivered mail from cluster boxes daily, and to put a “hold” on mail delivery while away for extended time periods.

She also says the USPS is pushing to eliminate all “door to door” mail delivery, and is moving everyone toward either curbside deliveries, or toward using the “clustered” mailboxes.

Valley Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz provided this written statement in response to a request for comment on the issue of broken mailboxes:

“Mail service is critical to thousands of families across our Valley and any interruption to that service can have serious consequences in people’s lives. I will continue to advocate for the people I serve and am working with the U.S. Postal Service to bring this issue to a resolution that will ensure secure and continued mail service in the affected communities.”