Who changed my address at the post office?

Dear John: In a recent column you answered a gentleman concerning US Postal Service and a change of address.

On Aug. 8, someone went into the post office and put in a change of address under my name to an address in the Bronx, effective Aug. 15. I only found out when I went to the Social Security office concerning my handicapped daughter.

The clerk asked to see my ID, and then said, “I see you moved to the Bronx.” I told her in no uncertain terms I had not moved.

She told me it was notified of the change by the postal service. The next day I went to my post office and was shown a form with the change to the Bronx. I asked how that could happen when the crooks wouldn’t have any ID of mine.

The clerk handed me a form and said all I had to do was fill it out and drop it in any post office box and it would be changed. It took three weeks to notify all my credit card companies, banks, etc., before I started getting my mail again.

I asked the postal inspector if my address could be flagged so it couldn’t happen again, and she said no.

It’s a lousy world I’ll leave to my grandchildren. Things were much simpler when I was young. J.H.

Dear J.H.: The post office says that when you put in a change of address, you need to have a valid email address as well as a valid credit card for the $1.05 charge.

“When filing a change of address online, the USPS uses industry standard practices to verify identity. Additionally, a copy of the Change of Address request is sent to both the old and new address,” it says.