It's in the Mail closes in Marysville, customers say they were left hanging

MARYSVILLE As she had many times in the past, Sandy Smith arrived about a month ago at the Shoultes Road business to collect her mail.

Smith said while the business had undergone a change in ownership and name, she had rented a personal mailbox at the location since 2003.

On this day, when she went to pick up her mail, Smith found the business was closed, apparently permanently. Smith alleged she had received no prior notice about the closing and initially had no information about what had happened to her mail.

"This is just a wrong doing," Smith said of what she described as the sudden closing of the It's in the Mail store near the intersection of Shoultes and State Avenue.

Smith is not alone in her frustration. Other former customers of the closed business say there were not only left wondering where to pick up their mail, but also what was going to happen to rental fees they had paid on personal mail boxes.

Former It's in the Mail customer James White said he doesn't even remember how much he paid for his box.

"It wasn't much," he said. "It's the principal of the thing."

A Marysville resident, White is in the midst of a campaign for Washington governor. He said he was counting on the rented mailbox in order to collect campaign donations and other materials. Unlike other It's in the Mail customers, White said he received a notice in his mailbox regarding the closure of the store. But he still said he had plenty of questions and no initial guidance on how to pick up his mail.

Yet another former customer, Vicki Lee Clonts filed a complaint against It's in the Mail with the Washington Attorney General's Office. Clonts used the box for her personal mail, but also to help run her business, Pampered Pets Mobile Dog Grooming. The complaint is public record and according to that complaint, like other customers of It's in the Mail, Clonts discovered the business was closed in early June.

"It was so stressful for me because I work 12 to 14 hour days," she said later, adding she just didn't need the added hassle of worrying about what was happening to her mail.

The attorney general's report lists the business owner as Michelle Williams. The state was unable to find a home address for Williams. Apparently sent to the storefront, a state letter to Williams was returned as undeliverable.

A phone number listed in the state complaint report has been disconnected.

A media relations manager for the attorney general, Kristin Alexander said as the state was unable to contact the business owner, the file on It's in the Mail has become essentially inactive. Clonts' complaint was the only one to reach the state.

Alexander added the attorney general does not act as legal counsel for those filing consumer complaints. The office simply tries to serve as a mediator in disputes. In other words, the state will not take any take further steps, such as legal action, against It's in the Mail or its presumed operator, Michelle Williams

"We serve as a neutral party," Alexander said. "It's a resource we provide."

According to the local chapter of the Better Business Bureau, no complaints have been filed with them regarding It's in the Mail. According to BBB Public Relations Manager Shannon Barney, her office has two listings for It's in the Mail.

Besides the Marysville store, there is a listing for an outlet in Monroe. The BBB regularly generates what it calls reliability reports for businesses. The reports for It's in the Mail contain almost no information on the company, with only a first name, "Michelle," for the owner.

Because of the lack of information on the business, the BBB did not even assign It's in the Mail a rating. The phone number listed in the BBB report for the Monroe store is the same disconnected number listed for the Marysville store.

Various attempts by The Marysville Globe to reach the owner listed by the attorney general's office were unsuccessful.

Smith said she feels almost personally betrayed by It's in the Mail's operator.

"Everybody knew her and everybody liked her," Smith said. "Then, all of a sudden, she just up and disappeared."

Like other former It's in the Mail customers, Smith said she still has the key to her now non-functioning personal mailbox.

Beside, renting mailboxes, Smith and others said It's in the Mail also offered cards and small gifts.

It's in the Mail's former operator may or may not be a local resident. Smith said she ran into the person she presumes was the operator accidentally after the store closed. The owner allegedly indicated the store was being taken over by new operators who would honor contracts on personal mail boxes. Then on July 10, Smith reported workers were removing various fixtures and other items from the Shoultes Road store.

The Marysville Globe was unable to talk to those workers, but the store now sits essentially empty. A large notice lists the storefront as being available for lease. The leasing company did not return a phone call requesting comment for this story.

As for the mail belonging to It's in the Mail's former customers, Smith and others said the Marysville Post Office had been forwarding or holding that mail at least for a while. A local postal official did not return a Globe phone call.

"I think she (Williams) should make us right in terms of the money and we should get an apology," Smith said.

"This doesn't do much for small business owners," Clonts said. "You have to have trust."

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