Action 9

Action 9 gets results for SUV owner and disabled vet denied a mailbox

ORLANDO, Fla. — A disabled veteran who called Action 9 after a condo association refused to let him receive mail, now has a mailbox after a local congressman saw Todd Ulrich’s first story and got involved.

Action 9 also got results for a Nissan owner stuck with an SUV she was afraid to drive. She was scared to get behind the wheel because it suddenly lost speed, which she believed could cause a crash.

“Somebody (could) hit me and kill me and so it's very dangerous,” Lydia Sanchez said.

She told Action 9 her 2010 Nissan Rogue would suddenly drop from 70 to 35 miles an hour on major highways.

She kept taking it back to a Nissan dealer.

“They cannot fix it,” said Sanchez.

Action 9 found dozens of similar complaints to regulators.

Todd Ulrich contacted Nissan about the vehicle Sanchez was scared to drive and three weeks later, the automaker replaced her transmission at no cost.

She can't wait to take her next road trip, free of fear, she told Action 9.

In Kissimmee, an Action 9 story also led to results for a disabled veteran.

For the first time since moving, in Ricky Hill has his own mailbox.

The Navy vet called Action 9 after the Venetian Bay Villages Condo Association said he could not receive mail because he was a renter.

Hill said using a P.O. box was not an option.

“I can't drive so I can't go,” he said.

The condo association blamed U.S. Postal Service policy.

Congressman Darren Soto saw Action 9’s first story and couldn't believe it happened to a veteran.

“And they can't even get a basic function of our federal government that others have, that's why we intervened,” said Soto.

He convinced the association to give Hill a mailbox, despite postal regulations for condos in vacation rental areas.

“I'm a little frustrated with the local postmaster on this issue," Soto said.

But now Ricky Hill can check his own mailbox every day.

“That was the best thing that could have happened to me, have someone like yourself get involved,” said Hill to Ulrich.

The Venetian Bay condo board told Action 9 it is working with the Postal Service, so it could restore mail delivery for all renters. The agency had limited mail service to vacation rental properties.

Florida condo rules say renters get the same basic rights as owners.