Monday, March 2, 2015

MAIL TRUCK FIRE IN BELLE MEADE, TN, DESTROYS MAIL




FEBRUARY 26, 2015

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV)

A viewer contacted Channel 4 after receiving an email that he believed to be suspicious.

The email told the recipient that if they had recently mailed their property tax payment, they might need to send another check.

The email claimed to be from the city of Belle Meade. It said a mail truck that delivers mail to their office had caught fire.

The viewer believed it was a scam. Turns out, it was true.

A postal carrier's truck burned completely on Harding Road on Wednesday morning.  The mail carrier was fine, but that wasn't the case for all of the mail and packages inside, including the mail that was about to be delivered to Belle Meade's city hall.

"Well, it's the end of the month, end of February, and that's tax collection time for the city of Belle Meade," Belle Meade Police Chief Tim Eads said.
The city recorder sent out emails to warn people that the check they placed in the mail to pay their property taxes may have ended up in the ashes.
The city said they will extend a grace period to people whose tax payments were destroyed.

This also affects anyone who may have paid a traffic citation this week.
The postal service said the mail that was destroyed was being delivered to addresses up and down Harding Road, including a number of churches and businesses. Wednesday's mail headed to residential customers on Richfield Drive was also lost.

Eads said anytime you get an email asking for money, it's best to contact the agency directly first to make sure it's legitimate.

If this had been a scam, it could have cost people a lot of money.
"Pay your taxes twice, yes, it would have been a really good scam," Eads said. "Especially if they put an alternate address other than the legitimate address for the city."

One mail customer on Richfield Drive was expecting a wedding ring in Wednesday's mail. The outer package was burned, but the ring had been sent in a metal box. The ring is good to go for the man's wedding on Saturday.
Source: www.wsmv.com