Abbotsford man angry at Canada Post over giant hole in front yard

An Abbotsford man thinks contractors working for Canada Post got the wrong address when they dug a giant hole in his front yard.  

Steve Carvelli says he was working at home when he heard the rattle of construction noise. At first he thought it was his neighbour, but when he investigated he was stunned to discover workers and an excavator digging in his yard. 

"I went to the front of the property where a person was controlling traffic and asked 'what's going on,'" Carvelli told CBC. "She told me they were digging a hole for a Canada Post community mailbox."

"I asked them to stop and they said, nope, they had a work order and continued on."

 Carvelli claims he never received a single notice from Canada Post alerting him to the superbox installation in his yard. He did however receive a letter three month ago informing him that his mail service would be moving to a new superbox that was slated to be installed at a different location.  

"At first I was mad, irate. I thought how can they make this mistake?" said Carvelli. 

"By their own admission they're supposed to consult every homeowner who is to have one of these boxes put on their property," he said. "They didn't do that."

Canada Post has admitted to a 'communications breakdown". Anick Losier of Canada Post told CBC the Carvellis should have been notified when the planned location for the superbox changed.  

Carvelli says he understands Canada Post's right to install a superbox, however, "they said they would make it as unobtrusive as possible. If you see the hole it huge, it's intrusive."

For the time being, Carvelli has parked his truck over the hole to prevent further digging. A Canada Post representative has agreed to meet him next week.