Has anybody received, and had success contesting with USPS, an underpaid postage notice? I received an email notice from PayPal that my shipping account is being frozen due to a claim from USPS that I owe and additional $4.31 for a 3-ounce first class package that contained four baseball cards that I mailed from Nebraska to North Carolina using the PayPal shipping label service. I originally paid $2.84 through the service. The only reason given for the underpayment charge was package type 1231 on the label vs. what they say should have been type 7710. The package shows delivered on 1/4, but I was not sent this notice until 1/8, making it pretty much impossible to get a scan or picture of the envelope from the recipient at this point. I thought it was a scam at first because I have never received anything like this after mailing dozens of packages using this service, but I found out it is legitimate.
After much research, I found a place to send an email to USPS contesting the charge. I asked these questions in the email:
Update since I first posted this : The recipient did still have the envelope and was nice enough to send me a picture of it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the package or way it was labelled. If USPS gives me a hard time regarding my initial protest I will try sending them the picture too.
Final Update
It took just over two months for me to get USPS to admit their claim of underpaid postage was in error and for them to have PayPal unlock my shipping account. Some things I learned from this process if something like it ever happens again:
1) If you want use of your PC postage account during the claim process you have to pay the assessed fee immediately and have it reversed on appeal. I chose not to pay the fee because I knew it was ridiculous for them to try to charge me a Priority Mail rate for a three-ounce package that I had labelled correctly as a First Class Package and I did not want it to look like I was admitting an error on my part. As a result, I wound up paying far more by having to go to the post office for two months and paying retail postage rates. It would not have been worth it if the additional postage was only an ounce or two, and was probably not worth it anyway. I'm just stubborn when I know I am right and was willing to never use my label service provider again if necessary.
2) Immediately file your claim if you believe the charge is in error by sending an email to [email protected]
In your claim you must include the following or it will delay your claim and they will not quickly tell you if additional information is required:
- Name
- Phone
- Email
- Revenue Assurance ID of each record to be appealed (This is the underpaid postage ID they assigned on your initial notice from the label provider)
- USPS tracking number on original shipment
3) If the automated acknowledgement of your initial claim gives a standard of service of 2-5 business days for resolution follow up with them immediately at the end of this time. Don't give them additional time to respond or you will hear nothing.
4) Maybe not necessary, but I am going to begin taking pictures of my clearly labelled packages, in groups to save time, to at least prove what they looked like when I mailed them. It will not protect me against USPS claims that my weight was wrong, but it should help with claims like this that just make no sense.
5) USPS claims that their response to your appeal will go through your PC postage provider, in my case PayPal Shipping, who claimed that they knew nothing of the status which is controlled by USPS. Stay on USPS until they provide an answer to your claim and prove that they notified the PC postage provider.
I have not included all of the places I called or emailed, including the USPS claims email, USPS Customer Service, USPS Office of Inspector General, a call from the post office of the package recipient and an email to an executive with USPS who I thought might be over the area involved in addressing the claim. I found out these erroneous claims when third party label providers are used are not that unusual. I just hope I am better prepared to contest the charge if it ever happens again.
After much research, I found a place to send an email to USPS contesting the charge. I asked these questions in the email:
- What are package types 1231 and 7710? I have been unable to find a list of these codes, even on the USPS website. I labelled it as a first class package, which is what was intended, and how it was mailed.
- If postage was incorrect, why was it not immediately returned to me or rejected by the accepting facility, rather than travelling from Nebraska to California to North Carolina, as tracking shows, and then taking another four days after delivery before notifying me of a perceived discrepancy? This eliminated any chance for me to have the recipient provide information to me on the state of the package when it was received.
- Where can I see an image of the supposed incorrect labeling on the package?
- There should be no way for a package containing four baseball cards, using first class package service to have resulted in a total charge of $7.15. How and why was this amount determined?
Update since I first posted this : The recipient did still have the envelope and was nice enough to send me a picture of it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the package or way it was labelled. If USPS gives me a hard time regarding my initial protest I will try sending them the picture too.
Final Update
It took just over two months for me to get USPS to admit their claim of underpaid postage was in error and for them to have PayPal unlock my shipping account. Some things I learned from this process if something like it ever happens again:
1) If you want use of your PC postage account during the claim process you have to pay the assessed fee immediately and have it reversed on appeal. I chose not to pay the fee because I knew it was ridiculous for them to try to charge me a Priority Mail rate for a three-ounce package that I had labelled correctly as a First Class Package and I did not want it to look like I was admitting an error on my part. As a result, I wound up paying far more by having to go to the post office for two months and paying retail postage rates. It would not have been worth it if the additional postage was only an ounce or two, and was probably not worth it anyway. I'm just stubborn when I know I am right and was willing to never use my label service provider again if necessary.
2) Immediately file your claim if you believe the charge is in error by sending an email to [email protected]
In your claim you must include the following or it will delay your claim and they will not quickly tell you if additional information is required:
- Name
- Phone
- Revenue Assurance ID of each record to be appealed (This is the underpaid postage ID they assigned on your initial notice from the label provider)
- USPS tracking number on original shipment
3) If the automated acknowledgement of your initial claim gives a standard of service of 2-5 business days for resolution follow up with them immediately at the end of this time. Don't give them additional time to respond or you will hear nothing.
4) Maybe not necessary, but I am going to begin taking pictures of my clearly labelled packages, in groups to save time, to at least prove what they looked like when I mailed them. It will not protect me against USPS claims that my weight was wrong, but it should help with claims like this that just make no sense.
5) USPS claims that their response to your appeal will go through your PC postage provider, in my case PayPal Shipping, who claimed that they knew nothing of the status which is controlled by USPS. Stay on USPS until they provide an answer to your claim and prove that they notified the PC postage provider.
I have not included all of the places I called or emailed, including the USPS claims email, USPS Customer Service, USPS Office of Inspector General, a call from the post office of the package recipient and an email to an executive with USPS who I thought might be over the area involved in addressing the claim. I found out these erroneous claims when third party label providers are used are not that unusual. I just hope I am better prepared to contest the charge if it ever happens again.
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