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Kokua Line
Question: In January, I mailed a package of macadamia nuts from the Waipahu Post Office to someone on Lunalilo Street. I asked the mailman which is the best way to send it and he said regular parcel post. I did not ask for a receipt. After two weeks, when the nuts still had not been delivered, I called the post office's 800 number and talked twice to a customer service representative. Both times I was asked if I insured the package. Why should I insure a package if it's going to some place on the same island? Also, when I asked which is the best way to mail it, I was told regular parcel post. Asking me if I insured the package is like telling me they cannot be trusted. Finally, the second customer service representative told me it takes 14 to 15 days for a package to get from one point to another on Oahu! The package was finally delivered after three weeks. Why does it take so long? 3-week mail
delivery drives
reader nuttyAnswer: The package apparently was "inadvertently dispatched to the mainland," probably because of human error, said U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Felice Broglio.
She apologized for the delay, saying your package should have been delivered within three or four days.
The answers you received from the customer service representatives were correct only in the broad sense, Broglio explained. Because the toll-free line handles calls from all over the nation, the operators basically follow a script, she said.
So when someone asks how long parcel post will take, the answer is that it normally takes four to 14 days (not 14 to 15 days), depending on where the package is mailed from and where it is going.
"Locally, it should take the minimum time, but that apparently was not explained," Broglio said.
Regarding questions about insurance, "that's also scripted" and asked of everyone as a means of going to the next step in tracking down a delayed or missing item, she said.
It's another way of determining what alternatives the mailer may have, she said.
Q: Regarding the date error in the 1099G forms (Kokua Line, Feb. 5), I received the 1099G Forms for 1998 that said 1988, as well as 1099G forms for 1997 that said 1987. The 1987 form matched my 1997 tax refund amount, so, it is not a duplicate of the 1988 form error. No mention was made in the news concerning a 1987 card error. Will another 230,000 cards have to be sent to correct that error in date as well? Also, how will this affect taxpayer records for both 1987 and 1988 errors? I already sent both cards to the IRS.
A: The 10-year error in dates was a general programming error and not just affecting 1998 tax year refunds, said Linda Cacpal, spokeswoman for the state Department of Taxation.
The 230,000 remailing figure reflects the total number of cards that had to be resent, she said. Cacpal also said that a mainland printer mailed the Hawaii Tax Refund Report cards with the corrected dates last week, so taxpayers should have received them by now.
The corrected year will be shown in red, she said.
Meanwhile, state tax officials have been in contact with the IRS regarding the error to make sure that there are no problems arising because of it, Cacpal said.
Mahalo
To the nice lady who helped carry my packages from my car to the Kaimuki post office. Although I offered to pay for her postage, she refused. Her assistance was very much appreciated. -- D.M.
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
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