PROPERTY TAXES AND THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

Husband and I thought our property taxes for Briar Cottage (our name for our modest home for almost 46 years) were paid in full for another year and paid early.   Husband dropped the check at the local post office on December 1.

In early June we received a letter informing us that  on July 1  our taxes would be delinquent and penalties  would go to the highest rate.

What! The check cleared our bank December 2. Just an accounting error, I said.
No, the check was apparently stolen at the post office and cashed the next day.  San Patricio County never received the check.  Our taxes were delinquent!

To keep this brief, we had to file a report with the police; get a form completed, signed  by the tax assessor/collector, then notorized; take it to our bank and fill out another form for the bank and contact the USPS.  Our bank was able to tell us that it had been cashed the next day at a local credit union. The police hinted that there may have been other mail thefts around that time.

Thankfully, all late and delinquent penalties were dropped by the tax assessor/collector. Husband wrote another check and took it in person to the county office and got a receipt. The bank told us we should get our money back, but it is not clear how we will be reimbursed or when. We are just grateful that we had money to pay our taxes twice.

We seldom write checks and pay most bills online. If we do have a check to mail, we take it to the post office instead of leaving it in our mailbox for the postman to pick up. Now we will be even more careful.

Carpetbaggers come in different forms!