Elizabeth Watkins applied for a new Social Security card that would list her married name and a card for her 4-month-old son, Billy.

When the cards didn't arrive at her home in West Mifflin, she went to the Social Security office in McKeesport where she applied for them. An employee said both cards had been returned to another Social Security office and gave her its phone number.

Mrs. Watkins called and was told the cards had been returned because the words "no forwarding address" had been marked on the outside of the envelope.

She said the cards didn't have to be forwarded anywhere; they just had to be delivered.

Mrs. Watkins, a homemaker who will be 24 next week, said it was another example of mail that wasn't delivered to the brown, three-story, work-in-progress frame house she and her son share with her husband, William Watkins, and his family. She has lived there for three years.

She asked that the cards be sent to the Social Security office in McKeesport "so I'll be sure to get them."

I drove out to the Watkins home. I didn't see any reason why there should be any problem with mail delivery. The black rural-style mailbox, fastened to a wooden post, appeared to be the proper height. I recommended that the post, which was leaning toward the street, be straightened up so the mail wouldn't fall out if the pull-down door wasn't closed securely.

There were no obstacles a letter carrier would have to overcome to get to the mailbox. And having the mailbox at street level saves the carrier from walking up a set of concrete steps. I asked if the family had a dog and was introduced to Dozer, who is kept in a cage, complete with a doghouse, in the back yard.

I reviewed the family's mail problems with Tad Kelley, a spokesman for the local office of the U.S. Postal Service. I e-mailed the names of everyone who lives in the six-bedroom house -- five adults and four children -- and pointed out that their last names are all Watkins. The Watkins grandparents live next door.

Mr. Kelley did some research and promptly got back to me. He said the West Mifflin post office was aware of the family's mail problems and had taken a number of steps to rectify them. He said the office serves 100 routes with more than 40,000 deliveries and "is very diligent with customer service."

He said a family of four -- two adults, each with a different last name, and two children, whose last names were different from the adults -- once lived there.

Elizabeth Watkins said that was correct. "They needed a place to stay for a few months."

Mr. Kelley said mail for one member of that family of four was recently delivered to the Watkins mailbox because he neglected to file a change of address card. If he had done so, his new address would have been entered into the computer system and sent directly to his new residence.

"We want to provide the best possible service to all customers and endeavor to do so every day," Mr. Kelley said. He said customers can help themselves -- and the postal service -- by:

Making sure a change of address card is filled out properly, especially the box that indicates whether an individual or a family is moving. "[That is a] very big deal," he said.

Calling banks, creditors, insurance providers, utility companies, etc., and give them the complete new address to reduce the amount of mail that has to be re-routed through the forwarding system.

Putting all the names of family members somewhere on or in the mailbox for carriers and substitutes to verify delivery, especially if there are multiple last names living at an address.

Communicating with the carrier or the local post office.

It would behoove the Watkins family, and anyone else experiencing mail delivery problems, to give their local post office a list of all the names of the persons living at their address and ask that they be entered into the computer system.

And when the Watkins family does that, they should remind the post office that they live on what is known as Laura Avenue, a name that Elizabeth Watkins said changes to Laura Street at the end of the block.

Despite Mr. Kelley's assurances that the postal service is working to correct the delivery problem, the Watkins don't believe they're receiving all of their mail.

I'll keep you posted.

First Published: August 31, 2007, 4:00 a.m.