As frequent travelers, John and Barbara Bungay thought they could make their lives easier by getting a box at Santa Fe's main post office.

But more than seven weeks after the Bungays picked up the keys to their box and submitted mail transfer forms, they have received mail only sporadically. So they started sending themselves a letter every day from the main post office.

The couple sent the first letter April 17, and it didn't arrive until Tuesday -- a week later, said Barbara Bungay. As of Sunday, the most recent letter they had received from themselves was dated Wednesday, she said.

Last week, the couple received a bundle that included mail dating back to March 30, Barbara Bungay said.

And after weeks of questions and complaints, Barbara Bungay said she does not know when the couple might start receiving steady mail at the post office box. "Everyone was very polite down at the Santa Fe post office," she said, "but it was like their eyes were glazed over."

Sam Bolen, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service, said Friday that the Postal Service's Office of Consumer Affairs in Albuquerque found the cause of the problem last week and has fixed it.

The problem occurred when an employee at the post office kept putting some of the Bungays' mail in with the mail for the previous box holder, Bolen said.

As soon as the Bungays contacted the district consumer affairs office in Albuquerque, the office resolved the problem, Bolen said. The office is conducting a "mail watch" on the Bungays' box to make sure the problem is fixed, he said.

It does not appear that there is a widespread problem with delivery to post office boxes in Santa Fe, Bolen said.

But Barbara Bungay said she won't be convinced until she and her husband begin receiving a steady stream of mail on a regular basis. "I don't think the problem's fixed," Barbara Bungay said.

Bolen, however, said anyone who has a problem with their mail delivery that they can't resolve locally should call 800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777) and lodge a formal complaint.

"We apologize to the customer and for any inconvenience they might have had," Bolen said.

The Bungays' complaint comes nearly a year and a half after Santa Fe's congressional delegation started receiving hundreds of complaints about mail delivery in January 2006.

Chris Gallegos, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said Domenici's office receives a steady stream of complaints from people in the Santa Fe area.

The office receives fewer than 10 complaints a week, Gallegos said, but they are steady.

While Domenici appreciates the fact that the Postal Service has changed upper management at the Albuquerque postal facility, which processes most of the state's mail, he does not believe there have been any broad improvements in Santa Fe's mail service, Gallegos said.

Marissa Padilla, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said Udall's Santa Fe office receives about one or two complaints a week.

The office brings the complaints to the Citizen Advisory Council in Santa Fe to make council members aware of the complaints, Padilla said. The Postal Service established the council in October 2006 to try to improve postal service in the area.

Udall would like Santa Fe's post offices to have more full-time employees with full benefits, Padilla said.

Maria Najera, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said Bingaman's Santa Fe office hasn't received any postal complaints in a couple of months.

But a staffer in the Santa Fe office said she has been frustrated with the time it takes for mail sent in Santa Fe to arrive in Santa Fe, Najera said.

As for the Bungays, they hope their frustrations will end soon. The problem might not have been so bad if the couple didn't rely on checks from rental properties for income, Barbara Bungay said.

"Last night was the first night I've had a decent night sleep in weeks," Barbara Bungay said.

But she is not entirely without anxiety.

Barbara Bungay said she intends to keep sending herself letters until she is sure the problem is resolved.