Comments on: New Nonstandard Fees Will Not Apply to USPS Priority Mail Boxes

By: airbrake

airbrake — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 20:51:17 +0000

@reefcreators – Yes, it is a small P.O. Approximately 5 – 7 years ago the Postal Service put out a memo to all the P.O.’s that effective the date of the memo, all inspections and additional fees would be would be evaluated by the Sort Centers, no more moving the package to the receiver Postage Due. If the package was wrong in any way, it was returned to sender for correction. The memo explained this would move the mail faster due to the fact that individual Clerks were misinterpreting postal regulations and causing many delay to packages.

This Clerk has taken it upon herself to be a “Postal Inspector” and go over every parcel for defects. She has her own tape measure and even measures packages after the packages have been accepted by the Post Office to make sure they comply – you drop the package off at say 9 AM and she comes on shift at 1 PM and then goes through all the packages taken in that day to insure they comply.

If she “believes” she finds any problems, she upgrades the package to the next level of service and sends it along as postage due. I am in the Post Office almost everyday and I am never told there is a problem with a package – even though I could take care of it before it leaves the Post Office. The Consumer Unit over our area has told the Post Master and the Clerk to stop and let the system take care of it but both still continue. All the packages the Clerk has taken exception too have not violated any Postal Regulations as determined by the Consumer Unit over my area Post Office and most of the receiving Post Master’s.

The real problem is that a lot of Postal Regulations are vague and leave it open to interpretation by Clerks and some Post Masters. This is the reason for the Memo and inspections now done by the Sort Centers – to stop rogue employees from mis-interpreting the Regulations. This Clerk has even complained that I ship items in a Flat Rate Padded Envelope cheaper than in a box and states I am causing a loss to the Postal System.

By: reefcreators

reefcreators — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 16:44:16 +0000

In reply to airbrake. You must be in a very rural low volume area. I know the clerks at our office don’t have time to check every package little along some of them. Most times they just throw them in the bins to let the computer systems do the checking

By: spooky

spooky — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 15:14:33 +0000

sounds like the same reason I left UPS years ago. Dim-Weight pricing can get VERY expensive particularly to zip codes far away from seller. The dilemma is the farther away a buyer lives the more the package theoretically needs to be protected.

By: airbrake

airbrake — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 13:39:37 +0000

Okay, who determines the extra fees? Clerk, Post Master or at the sort hub? If the package accrues extra fees, when and how is the fee paid? At the receiving Post Office or added to the package as additional postage that must be paid by the receiver? I ask these questions because I am currently involved with a Clerk at my Post Office, while the Post Master allows and approves that the Clerk to do what she pleases. Said Clerk has stated “The Postal System needs more money and I will inspect every package I can to determine if the proper fees were paid”.

This problem has gone very high up into management and still the Clerk is determined to interpret the Postal Regulations as she sees fit, even after being told by the Consumer Unit to stop it. So, with this rule being very vague as announced, Clerks all over the system will go hog wild, just watch. This can be mostly stopped by upper management issuing strict guidelines as to how to enforce the new rules.