The Sussexes’ Archewell Foundation is ‘delinquent’ due to a check kerfuffle

Page Six broke a weird piece of Sussex news yesterday. Apparently, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are “delinquent” on the registration fees for Archewell Foundation. At first, I thought: maybe they are delinquent on purpose, because they seem to be changing over their branding and maybe Archewell is being folded into some new foundation. But no, they just didn’t get the check to the state of California in time. They plan to clear all of this up soon.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation has been deemed “delinquent” by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Per an official letter from Bonta, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not paid the official registration fees for their charity since at least the beginning of this month. Since Archewell did not submit its registration fees and annual reports on time, it has been listed as “delinquent” with the registry of charities and fundraisers. (Page Six was the first to report the news on Monday, May 13.)

“An organization that is listed as delinquent is not in good standing and is prohibited from engaging in conduct for which registration is required, including soliciting or disbursing charitable funds,” the letter read. “The organization may also be subject to penalties and its registration may be suspended or revoked by the Registry.”

Us Weekly understands that the Archewell Foundation did file the paperwork on time, but a physical check for registration fees was sent but not received. The organization learned of the issue after the delinquency notice was published and has since mailed a new check.

[From Us Weekly]

The Sussexes’ team briefed something similar to People Magazine as well, that they did send a check but it wasn’t received, so they’ve issued a new check. People Mag notes: “The foundation only became aware of this when the delinquency notice was issued. A new check has been sent by mail, and the Archewell Foundation expects the issue to be quickly resolved and reflected in the records within the next seven business days.” A minor paperwork issue, but because it involves Harry and Meghan, of course it’s getting blown up by Page Six, the British media and everyone else. Like… it’s not even Harry & Meghan’s fault. I believe the story about the first check going missing in transit. That sh-t happens.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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143 Responses to “The Sussexes’ Archewell Foundation is ‘delinquent’ due to a check kerfuffle”

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  1. BLACKFEMMEBOT says:

    You just know that after seeing the success of the Nigeria tour some poor intern was sent to scour some dull public filings website and hoping to throw some dirt on H&M. Just another day ending in y🙄

    • Harla A Brazen Hussy says:

      I’d really like to know how Page Six or the BM got their hands on this letter, or were made aware of it in the first place.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Harla, SAME

      • Kate says:

        Charity status is in the public record so taxpayers can make sure the entity they are donating to will entitle them to a deduction, they wouldn’t need the letter sent to the entity itself.

      • TRex says:

        Exactly! Who would even know to look or check for something so random?

        And… WTH are people still using checks in the US? When I left the States decades ago, the practice was already practically non-existent in the EU! Wire transfer people!!

      • Surly Gale says:

        Cheques are still used..my clients pay me by cheque and e-transfers both. I pay my staff via cheque, etc. The government just sent me a cheque. I just paid my business insurance with a cheque. I’m happy you can do all your business your way. Nothing wrong with some of us doing business another way. Do what you will, people.

      • kirk says:

        How did “Sara Nathan… the award-winning editor at large at the New York Post” get this amazing super scoop you ask? Duh. She hauled out her manure scoop, went hunting for garbage and manure, then spread it all around herself. Probably she’s hoping for a britmedia or faux news award from BRFCo & Assoc client media 🙄

        Unfortunately for “Sara Nathan…the award-winning editor at large at the New York Post,” Governor Newsom, of the great state of California, told reporters while standing in front of a “mental health site” that there’s been a “piling on” over a technical paperwork issue with the Archewell Foundation. Newsom said Archewell was fully in compliance and is a “celebrated organization” on several issues, “notably around mental health.” AFAICT “Sara Nathan” hasn’t updated her super pooper garbage scooper of a story to encompass Governor Newsom’s remarks.

    • StillDouchesOfCambridge says:

      Someone seems to held on to the check to make this news right at this time, after the Great Nigérian Tour to shade that success

      • Joany says:

        This! 100%. This intentional smear campaign to throw shade on their successful tour is so disgusting.

      • Sunday says:

        Exactly this – Archewell did everything correct on their end, but somehow the check was “lost in transit”? Sorry, not buying it. This is a manufactured story from start to finish meant to taint the success of the Nigeria tour with typical tabloid nonsense. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the rota rats dug the check out of the mailbox themselves.

      • Megan says:

        This wasn’t malice, it was incompetence. I fundraise so my company needs to register with all the same state agencies and the amount of mistakes they make is unbelievable. Paperwork and checks get lost all the time. You don’t know something has gone wrong on the state’s end until you get a form letter telling you that you are delinquent. We retain a law firm to work out the screw ups on our behalf because that is how often they occur.

      • Megan says:

        @SSF 36 states require charities to register. The check would have been cut at the same time as the others and would likely have been about $100. It’s such a nominal sum it’s easy to overlook it.

    • Wendy says:

      EXACTLY!! Just always looking for dirt on the King and Duchess. Like how the hell would they know about this?? Who in the Registration office is leaking this information??

    • PC says:

      Well, this is something that will never happen to BaRF organizations seeing how they are immune to fees and taxes and such. They are especially immune to any public or media scrutiny.

    • TheFarmer'sWife says:

      Yet Chuckles is allowed to take suitcases and plastic shopping bags full of cash, and the UK government approves of that. Funny, non?

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      Of course they had someone scouring for SOMETHING! This is a nothingburger. It’s a computer generated form letter. Cackling that some are trying to make it sound like Bonta personally sent them a letter. giggle There are almost 2 million charitable organizations in the USA. I would wager that, at some point in time, at least 800,000 of those organizations received a form letter of some sort.

      This has the BM dirty hands all of it. They create the news. I was last year’s old (I believe) when Maureen Eden was reporting nonstop on Omid Scobie’s Companies House issue.

      Derangers were like, “Charles is taking over Omid’s business.”. Eden was spewing fire and brimstone. Yet, today, it appears Omid’s MeYou is still active.

      @Surly Gale, we still use checks too. Personally & professionally. Maybe 5 to 8% is done by EFT’s. We’ve had had vendors tell us they are switching to EFT’s and we should too. My husband consistently told them, “That’s fine. We do checks. You’ve been paid in full every month. It was nice doing business with you.”. And, then, backtracking by vendors. Checks have been a savior in some cases.imo

  2. Dee(2) says:

    Firstly this is stupid. The British media is so desperate to be able to report something, anything first about the Sussexes that they are trawling public record databases for information. Secondly, the new comms team is kicking ass. I first heard about this story around 1:00 p.m. yesterday, and by 6:00 p.m. there had been on the record responses from their spokesperson to American and British media and clarifying articles on TMZ and in People about what happened. So even the later reporting by the British media had to admit that this was a simple clerical error, and would be resolved within a week. The British media is truly pathetic, and the people who spend all their time hoping against hope that this is finally evidence of ” the tide turning!” really need to get a life.

    • Louise177 says:

      It was funny how when the news broke the media tried to make it into a scandal. Then it became a big yawn.

    • Christine says:

      Exactly, Dee!

    • Shawna says:

      Good point about the quick comms response.

    • WithTheAmerican says:

      This stupid non-story was being shoved down my throat on X and YT by the usual desperate hate $$$ machine actors. I blocked each and every one on Twitter and clicked do not recommend this channel on YT, even for mainstream sources reporting it.

      I am done.

  3. Harla A Brazen Hussy says:

    I have to admit my heart dropped a bit after reading this, on the heels of their wildly successful tour of Nigeria, but as noted here it’s just a clerical issue, the check was mailed but not received. As a resident of California, I’ve had this happen to me several times over the years. It’s just a shame that it’s happening now but I’m certain that it’s being handled correctly.

    • Elle says:

      I send all important checks / communications via certified mail! It actually makes it vs getting lost, but in the event it doesn’t, I have “proof” that I sent it. Vs “I sent it, I promise!”

      Fortunately I can do most of my payments online. But there is always that option if you need it!

  4. Jais says:

    Okay. So they’ve sent a new check and it will no longer be delinquent. Next.

  5. Plums says:

    I mean, it’s a super amateurish thing to have happened, especially when you know every tiny little insignificant thing is being scrutinized for the potential of being blown up into a made up scandal like this by the british media. you can’t blame the post office for your organization failing to notice if a check has cleared.

    • Dee(2) says:

      But it’s a thing that happens to people and businesses all the time. Plenty of people reconcile books every 30-45 days, if they were years delinquent in taxes like some celebrities that would be different. The fact that they have hyper awareness on them because the British media is obsessed with making anything sound horrendous doesn’t mean that they can’t have normal business mishaps.

      • Amy Bee says:

        @Dee(2): Exactly. This need for Harry and Meghan to be perfect in everything they do is not realistic. Mistakes/mishaps happen. The issue is already being resolved.

      • Christine says:

        Once more, Exactly, Dee!

    • Carrie says:

      Agree 💯. I love them but this is an own goal. I hate this happened at the end of the dream tour. It’s a silly thing and sad that they have to be so vigilant, but they should know by now just what scrutiny they are under and ensure they dot all i’s and cross all t’s.

    • Wagiman says:

      How is sending the cheque that needs to be sent on time amateurish? They employ accountants. That it wasn’t ‘received’ is the issue. It could have been lost OR it could have been deliberately lost. I suspect everyone who pays bills (ie every person) have had payments not gone through for all kinds of reasons. Shit happens. Calling them amateurs says more about you in this situation.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        It doesn’t matter when the form was received. Delinquency is based on when it was sent. Professionals would’ve sent the item certified mail, so they had proof of when it entered the mail system. The form RRF – 1 is the yearly form that charitable organizations in CA need to submit, and it is usually due on May 15 for companies with a 12/31 year end (4 months and 15 days after books close). If it was due earlier, they must have a odd year end for their charitable organization.

      • rosa mwemaid says:

        I used to work at paying companies for a living. I can assure you cheques were never sent recorded delivery. You trust the post to deliver a letter and you only record delivery if you either don’t trust the recipient or you are in dispute and might later have to go to court.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        @Wagiman, yep, it’s not amateurish. Sh*t happens. The forms were received in time. The forms being received in time is important. Yes, states want to be paid. And they will. We sent our estimated tax payments April 5th. The check didn’t clear until April 18th. Haven’t received a notice our payment was late. State & Federal agencies are backlogged. The USPS is also backlogged with being a partner in other delivery systems. This is a nonsense story and I’m here to fight it.

    • Zapp Brannigan says:

      Exactly, it is amateur hour. Everyone knows the correct way to make or receive payments is in a Fortnum & Mason carrier bag stuffed full of cash.

      • JanetDR says:

        🤣🤣🤣

      • Christine says:

        LOL!!!!

      • WithTheAmerican says:

        I got to your comment thinking, I don’t recognize any of the name here saying they love H and M “but” and this is “amateur” then I saw your name and I was like, oh no, I do recognize this one and they agree.

        Then I re-read and spit my drink out laughing.

        Indeed, they should have delivered in bags of cash, as is the Royal way.

      • Caribbean says:

        Lol…you have to warn a person who is drinking coffee!!

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        LOLZ @ Zapp. Dead. Best response. Kudos. If only…H&M gave the state of California a bag o’cash, all would be good with the British affiliated media.

    • ThatsNotOkay says:

      I’d agree with you—that they kind of look stupid for even letting it get so far that someone could turn a clerical error into something humongous, knowing the scrutiny they’re under—except that the US postal service is in shambles right now, thanks to DeJoy closing and combining hubs. (And helping to actualize federal voter suppression of minorities in urban area in the process.) Mail is taking a month to get some places when it used to take three days (literally just happened to me in April—also with a check). So I’m willing to give them a pass in this instance. But, yeah, bad timing and maybe even a little suspicious timing too.

      • Brassy Rebel says:

        What is really amateur hour is the state of California still using a check sent by snail mail as a payment method. As old and Luddite as I am, even I know that they should have an electronic system to transfer important funds.

      • Square2 says:

        Yes, the USPS is notorious unreliable, especially recent years. That’s why even small online business would rather choose other delivery services.

      • Couch Potato says:

        I agree with@Brassy Rebel. I live in Scandinavia and I haven’t seen a check on this side of the millennium.

      • Jan90067 says:

        I NEVER send by US mail anymore. I use UPS (FedEx here is a joke now). And all other payments (bills, taxes, etc) are electronically sent. Frankly, I’m pretty surprised that a company like Archewell isn’t using electronic delivery rather than a paper check.

    • Shawna says:

      I did cringe when I saw this first from Twitter. But ultimately, the shame is on the British media for being wolves, not H&M.

    • ML says:

      I think it’s a sloppy, but honest mistake. Be aware that not everywhere takes checks anymore: they haven’t been legal in the NLs for a while. You pay via online banking/ app. Personally, for important transactions like this one, you would expect that the account would have kept an eye out for this.
      When the Sussexes (with Doria) were chased for hours by the paps in NYC, Murdoch’s Californian TMZ covered that story instead of the NYPost/ PageSix. This time in California, it’s the opposite. I wonder why and how the information was obtained.

      • kirk says:

        Sloppy? Demeaning word for an ordinary transaction in the state of California with a population > 2x that of some small countries.

    • Deens says:

      Ok to put this in context, my husband is an accountant and finance director for an American company (he’s British). NOBODY uses cheques in the UK anymore but since getting this US job he has had to start dealing with physical paper cheques and it drives him nuts. “Who in the 21st century uses cheques anymore?!” “The biggest country in the world and its banking system is an antiquated shambles!”. So yeah, to British people who haven’t written cheques since 1998, this whole scenario sounds preposterous despite it being true. American businesses still use paper cheques all the times and it’s maddening and a total joke. There was likely not an electronic transfer option.

      • Mle says:

        They can renew electronically. I’m a Californian with several licenses that I have to renew at regular intervals, and I renew online.

        The use of a check was a choice, not a requirement. This is easy information to look up, and is available in the California Attorney General’s website.

      • Caribbean says:

        However they filed, electronically or paper…they filed on time, and everything was received except the check…
        There is no ‘honest mistake’ and that they ‘should have’ and ‘should not have’ …they did the right thing the right way and the check got ‘lost’ This should have just been a minor frustration for the foundation, has turned into international headlines…while ‘honor’ cashism, Kateism and Andrewism is not making news.
        H & M should not have to live on pins and needles or crossing every ‘t’ and dotting every ‘i’ because of these vultures.

      • rosa mwemaid says:

        We still write paper cheques at times in France, when the firewood is delivered, etc.

      • kirk says:

        Thank you @Caribbean.

      • kirk says:

        Deens – Sorry your British accountant husband finds Americans “maddening and a total joke.” Hope he’s able to rectify the US job problem to his satisfaction soon. Meanwhile, back at the Cali ranch, to put this in context, somebody on X-Twitter has downloaded Registries Reports from CA.gov Charities and it looks like 21% are delinquent: out of 131,561 non-profits, 28,047 are listed as “delinquent.”

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Plums, are you recommending that people who mail checks should in future hop on a plane and hand deliver it? How you do make the post office do better?

    • Moneypenny424 says:

      Um, as someone who works with state agencies daily, I can tell you that most are not depositing checks in a timely manner. And being delinquent in this way really isn’t a big deal if you clear it up quickly. This is just one of those things that happens, even for large companies like mine.

    • C says:

      Eh. I worked at state agencies where this type of certified mailing was used and this kind of thing still happened. They’ll rectify it. I don’t think it would be a big deal if William and Kate did it either.
      As far as the Sussexes looking incompetent because they need to make sure to be perfect at all times because of the press…there’s literally a Newsweek article right now that just says everyone in Britain hates Meghan, so let’s not pretend they won’t and haven’t invented “scandals” before and the question of smarmy journalism will always be there. There are still a LOT of people who believe Meghan made Kate cry after all, lol.

  6. Izzy says:

    What a stupid nonstory. Having said that, if they sent it by regular mail, they need to check to make sure the check wasn’t intercepted, washed, and cashed. I run a nonprofit and this happened to us a few months ago, someone messed up and sent a check by regular mail.

    When we do send checks, especially for state registrations, we send by priority mail so there’s tracking.

  7. Amy Bee says:

    Yeah this a non-story but the usual suspects are eager to attack Harry and Meghan for anything.

  8. zinjazin says:

    So they had some trouble with paperwork and a registraition fee and are clearing it up as soon as it was brought to their attention.Got it.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      zinjazin, actually the article above sounds like the paperwork was received.

  9. Nubia says:

    I was actually quite happy and surprised by the number of people and general comments who saw right through this BS story.

  10. Anna says:

    I am a bit concerned to be honest

    • Mimi says:

      Why would you could be concerned about something that has absolutely nothing to do with your life whatsoever? Be concerned about the fact that big corporations like Amazon pay zero taxes, because that does have an impact on all of us.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Mimi, in all fairness, every one of us here is commenting on something that “has nothing whatsoever to do with our lives”

    • Joanne says:

      What exactly are you concerned about? Are you concerned about a delay with the US Postal Service? Are you concerned about the sensationalist reporting? Are you concerned that the paperwork was correctly done but there was a delay in receiving it? What specific concerns do you have?

      • Anna says:

        I rly do not apprieciate your tone. I’m concerned about Harry and Meghan reputation. This might be damaging and I do not enjoy any of this. Fingers crossed its juts some stupid mistake

      • kirk says:

        @Joanne. Thank you for your specificity. What concerns me is that I clicked on that stupid Page Six link giving them unwarranted traffic, just so I could check the ghoul’s byline. “Sara Nathan is the award-winning editor at large at the New York Post. She has worked at The Sun, the Daily Mail, DailyMail.com and People. British-born,” tells me everything I need to know about “Sara Nathan.”

  11. Amy Bee says:

    If only the Royal Family was scrutinized to the same degree as Harry and Meghan are.

    • Scooby Gang says:

      @Amy Bee… Seriously! I guess suitcases full of cash don’t warrant a closer look.

    • Iolanthe says:

      Are the rest of them immune to scrutiny. There was a little matter of a missing diamond necklace . There’s a possible paedophile who is still roaming free because he has contacts. There’s also a woman who has been missing since Christmas and we don’t know for sure if she is ill , maimed or in a coma ..and if someone royal is responsible for her condition , I am sure there will be another right royal cover up . Since when are these losers going to get away without an investigation.

    • Becks1 says:

      This is really the truth of it. Was this a mistake? It sounds like it. Is it that big a deal or the end of the world? No.

      If the British press spent a fraction of the energy on the royals it spends on H&M I feel like things would be very very different over there.

  12. HO says:

    As someone who recently had to mail a check to the US govt, praying it wouldn’t get lost in the mail, this is a BS non story

    • kirk says:

      If you’re worried about mailed payments to US gov being properly credited as ‘timely’ payments, you should take the mail to US post office and have them stamp either a “Certificate of Mailing” or “Certified Mail Receipt” and save the stamped receipt as proof of it. Both forms are available at post office, but Certificate of Mailing is $1.50 while Certified Mail is $4.40. There’s extra cost for “return receipt” option for certified mail and if you’ve paid for the option to ensure ‘timely’ tax payment, you might be surprised at how long it takes an IRS processing center to legally ‘receive’ the mail and return your receipt. A stamped Certificate of Mailing is sufficient to prove ‘timely’ proof of mailing.

      Regular USPS post office will be able to give you either form and date stamp them. Contract USPS postal units (small US post offices set up inside stores) should have personnel competent to do the same, but I wouldn’t vouch for their operation without seeing it myself. The way certain payments to US gov are made is spelled out in US code or CFR, and USPS Priority Mail doesn’t necessarily qualify as ‘timely.’

      • Eurydice says:

        Archewell says that they sent the forms and payment by “tracked mail” and that they were received by the AG’s office on time. So, it seems they did do what you suggested.

  13. Lady Digby says:

    @Amy Bee if only they were properly scrutinized and held accountable!

  14. Ocho says:

    I find it weird that checks are still used. Especially for huge amounts. And when there is a time urgency. It feels outdated and unsafe. Recently, someone in the US posted a check to me (in the UK) and the first UK bank I approached said they didn’t have the ability to deal with checks. They don’t use them. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was a foreign check. They had just decided, “It’s 2024, nope, no checks.”

    • JanetDR says:

      I was recently in a nearby city getting some car repairs done and I had errands on the way. I realized at my first stop that I left my wallet at home, but I did have my checkbook. Both the dealership and the health food store (I have written checks to both for decades) said they pretty much stopped taking checks during covid. The health food store took one though, but the dealership said call us tomorrow with your credit card number! I was very glad that I have a couple of coffee shop apps so at least I could have a bite to eat!

    • Catsmeow says:

      Exactly. My first thought was “who uses cheques?” I’m in Ireland so I guess it’s still common in the US. I’ve hardly even used an ATM card since Covid!

      • L4Frimaire says:

        Same. I live in the US but mostly use Apple Pay and make electronic payments. We still deal with places that only take checks or cash, especially small businesses that don’t want to pay credit card fees. I still get paper checks occasionally.

      • Lucky Charm says:

        My mom still writes checks to pay all her bills and at the grocery store. I’ve tried to get her to move to online bill pay, but her response is “I’ve always done it this way and it works”.

      • rosa mwemaid says:

        We still use them in France, especially for deliveries.

    • Becks1 says:

      Weirdly, I have started using checks MORE frequently over the past year or so because many places charge a fee for using a CC, but they don’t charge that fee for cash or checks. 3% at the vet starts to add up when you have two dogs, lol. So I always keep a few checks in my purse/wallet for situations like that.

      I wouldn’t pay at a restaurant with a check, but we do use our bank card at ATMs in restaurants to avoid some of those fees as well (one place around us gives a 10% discount if you pay in cash! that’s significant IMO.) Our bank card reimburses us for ATM fees (ally) so it works out.

      That said, I’m getting ready to renew my passport and the idea of just sending a check and hoping it gets cashed timely is a little nerve wracking.

      • kirk says:

        Some “places charge a fee for using a CC.” Some also charge for using a debit card (DC) because they process them as credit cards. Ran into that the last time we bought a car thinking it would only be a $0.35 transaction fee. Fortunately the bank issued a cashier check for the dealer without charging the $10 check fee. My shoe repair shop has stopped taking cards at all, it’s either cash or checks.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        @Becks1, as a small/busy business owner. Thank you! We haven’t been charging a fee for people that use a CC. We do recognize those that opt to choose to pay by check or cash. Your pups will most likely receive preferential treatment because you understand the cost of doing business. I’m not going to lie. When customers come in and say, “How do you want me to pay? We know you’re getting hit hard by CC fees.”. I’m like, “It’s not my decision. Do what’s best for you?”. People have been overwhelming gracious and thoughtful. They’ll use their cards with big business and cash/check at smaller ones. In the last week, we received 5 shopping around calls that involved..do you charge an extra fee for using a credit card?.

        One of favorite lunch places, amazing subs-awesome bread-is charging a 3% fee if you use a credit card or a 5% discount if you pay cash or check.

    • andrea says:

      it was not a huge amount.

      Total Revenue Fee
      Less than $50,000 $25
      Between $50,000 and $100,000 $50
      Between $100,001 and $250,000 $75
      Between $250,001 and $1 million $100
      Between $1,000,001 and $5 million $200
      Between $5,000,001 and $20 million $400
      Between $20,000,001 and $100 million $800
      Between $100,000,001 and $500 million $1,000
      Greater than $500 million $1,200

      • Square2 says:

        But for governments, cities and some small shops, they want EVERY PENNY you pay. Credit card and debit card transactions fee add up really quickly if you have a huge number of clients. My local city asks us to pay the transactions fee if we want to pay by cards.

  15. Sycamore says:

    It’s strange they sent a paper check but sometimes, especially with governmental organizations, it’s your only choice.

    The mail in the U.S. is currently running so slow that Congress had a hearing with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about it last month. (Senator Jon Ossof, in a brilliant move, mailed his questions to DeJoy two weeks ahead of time; they did not arrive in time for the hearing.) I’ve personally had two wedding invitations that took over a month to arrive recently. Slow mail is a genuine but underreported issue.

    • ThatsNotOkay says:

      Just said the same thing upthread! Maybe the Sussexes should use this as an opportunity to discuss the destruction of our mail system under DeJoy…and the ensuing voter suppression (particularly of minorities) that will inevitably arise as a result.

    • kirk says:

      @Sycamore – that’s hilarious about Sen Ossof mailing his questions to DeJoy. Unfortunately we may be stuck with that Trump toady for a while yet. We were so hopeful that Biden would be able to get rid of him quickly, but Postmaster General position is stickier than a lot of other people who were ushered out by Biden. Priority Mail sent from the left coast to rural Kansas takes a week to arrive due to “centralized mail processing” implemented by DeJoy. Frustrating that USPS 1st class mail is slower than last year by their own measures: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/agency-oversight/2024/05/dejoy-agrees-to-pause-some-usps-facility-changes-until-2025/

  16. Saga says:

    Such a common happening but So weird how the push for traffic drive articles posted. The BM are par for course but I was shock that digital outlets of “reputable” media brands picked it up. You know it’s all part of capturing traffic via high performing SEO content but it’s also people so the mind disconnects. Unfortunately, Their team has to adopt the mantra most BW have in corporate world – “you must be 10 times as good as anyone else” as the margin for human error is tiny, the first hint of any error is used against you and Amplified globally as people both want to uplift and tear down.

    It was my first time experiencing a mass of bots and the BRF social media fans on twitter as well, wow 🤯 the online fans of the BRF are nasty – i remember one CEO had described it as a dumpster fire of hate but I didn’t understand until I looked at a few profiles and I was shocked – the vileness , they can’t be real fans of the institution as i don’t think it stands for that type of awfulness. these accounts must be hiding under the BRF flag to justify the bile. Oh my, it must be a job people are hired to do as the intensity and number of posts , how would do they find time to work otherwise? No one should venture in that corner of social media , it is not healthy.

  17. Jeep says:

    I’m still waiting on the birthday card my mom mailed 2 years ago- so yep, that stuff happens all the time! I hate this for them though. You know fraudulent is going to be in every story about their charity work from now to the end of time.

    • Lorelei says:

      @Jeep, I just said to @Becks last night that we’re NEVER going to stop hearing about how they’re “derelict,” even though that’s just a legal term.

      The BM is going to gleefully run with that word and mention it as many times as possible in every article every day- they won’t be able to help themselves

  18. APTX says:

    I hope they double check their records to make sure someone didn’t steal the check, wash it, and cash it. I’ve seen that happen a lot and businesses don’t catch it until the next month when they’re reconciling for prior month.

  19. Elo says:

    Yikes- I doubt Megan or Harry is doing this personally but whoever is in charge of their registration should take this as a learning opportunity to check registration updates after filing and take quicker action. It appears that it was due on April 15th.

  20. L4Frimaire says:

    Is a check the only way to pay? So antiquated. I haven’t written a check in years but I do occasionally get them, and I forget to cash them for weeks. If I were them I’d do e-payments if possible, especially for such a small amount. I get those letters sometimes if I forget about some medical co-pay. They send you this delinquency notice for the amount that looks like a legal summons and don’t even remember getting a bill. Anyway, it’s sorted and not a big deal.

  21. HuffnPuff says:

    This is giving “Its a Wonderful Life” vibes. Like when Potter pockets the money that Uncle Billy absentmindedly left behind. Just too coincidental.

    • Tina says:

      I’m becoming a conspiracy theorist in my old age because my first thought was someone lost that check on purpose and then waited to give Page Six the scoop.

  22. Slippers4life says:

    Meh! They’ll get a few headlines and probably role out Piers and Angela and then it’ll go back to the non story that it is. This stuff happens literally all the time. What’s funny is no matter what William and Charles do to steal headlines, the only thing that does is a missed check from the Sussexes. Good headlines bad headlines, nobody cares about what the Windsors have to offer.

  23. Libra says:

    Common problem these days. My health insurance premium check was returned to me as not being able to be read by their scanner. The bank said my check was fine. Was encouraged to pay by credit card instead of sending a new check. His would make me delinquent as it took 2 weeks for the returned check to reach me. After paying by credit card I made multiple calls to find the right person to make sure I would not be delinquent. So much bureaucratic lunacy.

  24. Harper says:

    This is the end guys! This is it! The check didn’t clear because the State of California Health Department noticed Meghan’s jam was not made in a commercial kitchen and is shutting down ARO and they confiscated the check because ARCHEWELL is toast too. Next is the reveal of Meghan’s moon bump and that Archie and Lili are dolls. Harry really is living in a motel in Montecito and Kate is in the adjoining room and they are plotting for him to come back as a WORKING ROYAL. Netflix is having a meeting with lawyers to get out of the Sussex contract so they can do more content with William because he is the FUTURE. Harry is rejecting Meghan; she is OUT and Kate is waiting for her to be OFFICIALLY gone before she comes back and breaks the internet.

    • MsIam says:

      Boy you have Deranger thought/speak down to a T! This is exactly the line of reasoning that those psychos use.

  25. Maxine Branch says:

    Last year I sent my nephew a birthday card with a few gift cards enclosed. From Florida to Atlanta and it took him about a month for him to receive it. Everything was there when received plus I sent it a week before his birthday. The state of our mail system in America is an abomination.

    The incident with the Sussexes indicates how very closely this couple is scrutinized. And it speaks also to how many folks are looking for ways to take them down. This too shall fail and this two will pass. Just as quickly as those gutter rats pointed this error out, the Sussexes Communication team will quickly respond when this is resolved.

    • Lucky Charm says:

      A little over a month ago, I received a Christmas card from a friend…who lives in the same state as me, and the envelope was postmarked December 14th.

    • Proud Mary says:

      To me, the pure jealousy over their successes, is evidence that the Sussexes are the King and Queen of the British monarchy. You’re right Maxine, this is a giant nothingburger. I work for a multi-billion company. Someone sent us a check to pay a bill over a month ago. We are still searching for that check. These things happen in a red-taped bureaucracy. But no, let’s pretend that this is some giant sandal that will finally bring down the mighty Sussexes. Next.

    • LynnInTX says:

      More than 20 years ago, I once received a Christmas card in April. Postmarked in November, from two states away. This problem is nothing new, but it’s getting worse.

      This story is such a non-starter. If the check was due April 15th, like someone said above, then it hasn’t even been a month since the check was due, which means they may not have even reconciled their books yet to notice it was missing. Or even gotten a statement that would have included it. They’ve already cut a new one.

      As far as everyone’s* pearl clutching about checks, I just recently spent 8 weeks as tax support for a rather large national accounting firm. Over and over and over I saw filings from California that had copies of a ton of checks made out to the state, for various taxes, fees, etc. I genuinely don’t think I saw one tax filing from Cali without a check in it somewhere. I still write checks for various things, most notably my water bill and HOA fees, which charge a fee for any kind of electronic payment, variable by type of payment. The entire financial and banking system in the USA is kind of screwed up in so many ways, but we all deal with it the best we can.

      *Everyone = hyperbole, but the amount of “they wrote a check? Gasp, shock, horror They must be idiots! Don’t they know better!” is eyerolling. (And y’all do realize that some of your electronic payments are just checks printed by the bank instead of you, right?)

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      As a business owner, we have routinely received statements on the day payment was due to be received.lol. I call them up, hiding my exhaustion, saying, “Our payment is due the day we receive your statement, and if we do pay today, we will still be charged interest fees? FYI,statements are being sent out late. It’s not on the USPS entirely.

      We’ve been assured it’s not about us and we will not be charged late fees.

      Because IATA, the American Friends of the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess Missington of Wales , has not been filed yet. I’m sure work needs to be done to cover up where the money went *cough* Earthshit & Bots.

  26. Telling says:

    The check is in the mail. Umm-kay.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Telling, seriously? I have no doubt that check will show up sometime in the next month or two with a postmark which shows it was mailed in plenty of time. Of course, we’ll never hear about it.

  27. WithTheAmerican says:

    I cannot believe anyone is “concerned” about this nonstory. This would be like the entire media echo chamber reporting on a typo.

    Maybe folks want to learn to reframe what they buy into, because the royal family has been taking bags of cash from nefarious sources, which is a lot more “ concerning” than a late check. My god.

  28. MsIam says:

    The issue has already been corrected so end of story. And its the government so mix ups happen. One year when my kids were teens, i filed their state taxes and one owed money and the other was due a refund. The state ended up sending them both refunds, so I had to send the check back with a letter. I don’t know how that happened with different names and social security numbers but okay. My guess is that check is sitting in a bin somewhere under somebody’s desk.

    • kirk says:

      We started sending our kids’ taxes in separate envelopes when their filing and payment got mixed up. So weird.

  29. rosa mwemaid says:

    Hope they have remembered to stop the original cheque.

  30. Boo says:

    I find this quite an oversight tbh.
    Even I, chaotic and disorganised as I am, set up alerts, have many reminders etc to make sure things like this don’t happen to me.
    What doofus in the team let this one slide?!

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Boo, I send checks every month and I never set up alerts or worry about it. So far, that hasn’t been a problem, so I don’t get why people think this is so end of the worldish.

    • Kingston says:

      Oversight on the part of the bureaucrat, you must mean. Because as already has been made clear, it was not a fault on Archewell’s part. Funny how gullible some folks are.

  31. Grandma Susan says:

    Louis DeJoy is doing all he can to destroy the United States Postal Service. He has slowed mail noticeably. Like a good little Trump appointee, he is doing all he can to force the Post Office in privatization.

    • WithTheAmerican says:

      He is a saboteur put in place to privatize the post office as you said! Trashing all of those expensive, taxpayer funded sorting machines was despicable.

      Mail is completely screwed in the states now for no reason other than Republican greed and corruption.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Grandma Susan, yes, but he has to get Congress to approve it because under the Constitution they have the power over the post office. I think we’ll see some laws pop up in Biden’s second term to help.

  32. Beverley says:

    I’m a Californian and I’ve experienced the same. One year, the state fined me big, claiming I didn’t pay my taxes. I swore up and down that I mailed my check on time, but my insistence fell on deaf, unyielding ears. I was fined the late fees plus penalties.

    Several weeks later, I was informed that my check miraculously surfaced. I applied for the refund of the fees and penalties. They refunded the penalties, but wouldn’t budge on the late fees.

  33. teehee says:

    They still use checks??

    Lol… like nearly very other rcountry is sufficed by direct deposits.

    Good ole’ America

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      teehee, yes, and I’m one of the people who continues to use checks.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        Me too @Saucy & Sassy. During Covid, we were going through our expenses. Ones that worth it or not. April 2020, a very big company, was not worth it. Think yellow pages. We called and said we were cancelling our business with them. They said okay. We then received a call that we couldn’t cancel because we didn’t issue it in writing. Agr sends off letter. They kept billing us and claimed to never have received the letter, we were still under contract for another year.

        We(I) was like FINE. We’re done May 2021. Sent a letter of cancellation. The Covid situation was wearing me out. I was freaked out. June 2021, we get a bill. Call up and say this is a misbilling, we are no longer your customer. Dude, on the other end tells me I’m wrong! You’re still under contract. I’m saying no.
        He was very good. Excellent gaslighter, liar. Back and forth we went. Ignored the bills. We then received a very threatening collection letter from someplace in Arskansa/Missouri. What the collection company didn’t know (and the big company didn’t think about) was that every check I sent starting in May 2020, in payment had on the memo line, this contract ends in May 2021-on the back I wrote , endorsement of this check acknowledges this contract ends May 2021. The checks were endorsed and cashed. June 2021, we get a bill. Ignore. July 2021 we get a bill. We’re delinquent. Call up and say, hey credit the account this is erroneous billing. Then they tried to gaslight us. Funniest thing, a rep for their company tried to convince me that no actual person ever handled or saw the check. I’m like, you’re telling me no human ever saw our checks. He said yes, and then,lol, said only machines handle the checks. So, I said, you are now telling me that there is this magical mystery machine that picks up checks from the lockbox, then puts them through the magical mystery machine that opens the envelopes and then posts them to the right accounts? And, that’s your reasoning for putting up our business for collections? Dumb@ss, said yes. I was actually legally recording him/them at this point. Collection company received a certified packet from us. Copies of every letter, every cashed checked with a memo involved and the the big kicker, Wisconsin statute 134.49. Per WII law, we could have gone after them. Chose not to. The collections company sent us a letter of apology. I’m not holding my breath on Chuck E. Cheese being a grown up.

  34. QuiteContrary says:

    This reminds me of the pressure that was placed on the Obamas to be perfect when they were in the White House. Michelle Obama said she wept for a half-hour after they finally got on the plane carrying them away from D.C. when Barack’s second term ended.

    “It was just the release of eight years of feeling like we had to do everything perfectly. That there wasn’t a margin for error. We couldn’t make mistakes. We couldn’t slip … That was the bar that was set for us,” she said.

    The bar set for the Sussexes is similarly unrealistic. Meanwhile, the corrupt king and his lazy heir can get away with anything, because the rota — royal lapdogs, not watchdogs — are complicit in their corruption by failing to investigate it.

    • Dee(2) says:

      Yep. Reading this reminded me greatly of hearing how President Obama ” should have known better ” than to order Dijon mustard on a burger, or wear a tan suit because the normal typical colors were gray ,blue or black. Just unrealistic unreasonable expectations that no one else is held to but you are supposed to exceed. I’m pretty sure no one here would be understanding if their boss called them amateurish or sloppy if something slipped through the cracks once and they fixed it.

    • Cassie says:

      Quite contrary , yes I read Michelle Obamas book and admire her courage for the standards they were put under .
      Tough lady .

      I saw the headline about Archwell being delinquent and it made me feel a bit sick .
      Then I thought how much positive stuff Harry and Meghan have done these last few days so guessed the media had to drag up something negative .

      It all stems from Harry suing the media basically .

      Here in Australia it’s always anti and negative Sussexes .

  35. Bad Janet says:

    This happens with bank issued checks ALL the time. I like the security of having my paper checks sent directly through my bank, but multiple times, I’ve gotten nastygrams from the recipients claiming they never got payment. I mean, I have a receipt with a check number and confirmation they got it, so the check is sitting in an envelope on someone’s desk, but okay.

    This is a nothing burger, but I’m sure this means the Sussexes are broke, grifters, etc. according to some drama queens.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Bad Janet, having a cancelled check is one of the reasons I continue to use checks.

      If this is what the bm has to beat the Sussexes with, they need to get a hobby.

  36. pottymouth pup says:

    have founded a small 501c3 animal rescue, I can tell you it’s very common for the state registrations/renewals to be a little late, especially the state ones. Delinquency is a problem when it’s from not registering at the state level at all or registering once and not renewing but still actively fundraising in the state.

  37. Saucy&Sassy says:

    Drum (#36) above posted an X post:

    “FYI seems the tax filings were submitted in full accordance to all regulations and the payment was sent AND DELIVERED via tracked mail and received on time. The delinquency notice was issued because the payment had not been processed by the AG’s office.”

    Now, do you think the bm will lay off? Neither do I. They never pass up an opportunity to continue lies. Why left the truth get in their way?

  38. tamsin says:

    So apparently the AG’s office had a processing glitch and Archewell was in compliance all along. So, is an apology forthcoming from anyone? Probably not.

    • Interested Gawker says:

      SMDH

      This always fascinates me; why are these media companies allowed to report and print these transparently malicious ‘news stories’ without disclosing their legal disputes with H&M, more H at this point. Why aren’t they obligated to disclose they’re in a lawsuit?

    • windyriver says:

      Impressive that the CA governor took the time to address this as part of a speech he was giving today, saying it was a technical issue other organizations have also faced, the whole thing was overhyped, and adding, “[Archewell is] a celebrated organization that does great work in the state of California.” Probably not the outcome the rabid press was looking for. Fox and Page Six at least put out articles about them being back in good standing. No doubt there’ll be yet another made up, overdramatized piece of nonsense replacing this story tomorrow.

  39. Dee(2) says:

    @Cya well nothing to be concerned about then because Fox News just reported they are back in good standing. My point in relation to your original comment is that it seems like some are making this a much bigger deal than it needs to be and implying something there, when it all was a big nothing burger. And it feels like people were looking deep to find something that was wrong more than it being apparent there was an issue.

  40. ArtFossil says:

    Both California governor Newsom (!) and the California AG have confirmed that Archewell is in compliance.

    “The press office for California Attorney General Rob Bonta confirmed to Fox News Digital Tuesday, “After being in touch with our Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, the
    organization is current and in good standing.” An Archewell Foundation spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “We have diligently investigated the situation and can confirm that The Archewell Foundation
    remains fully compliant and in good standing. Due payments were made promptly and in accordance with the IRS’s processes and procedures. Furthermore, all necessary paperwork had been filed by the Foundation without error or wrongdoing. “

    I’ve ordered large servings of crow to be delivered to all those tut-tutting, clutching their pearls or accusing the Sussexes of negligence.