Addressing USPS Overcharging: A Call for Transparency
Every day, businesses like ours encounter a troubling issue: overcharges from the US Postal Service (USPS). These excessive fees are particularly alarming when they double what should be paid for fixed flat-rate priority mailbox services. Update via Ecommerce Bytes.
Uncovering the Problem
As a dedicated advocate for businesses and consumers, we’ve identified a concerning trend with the USPS. Despite their long-standing reputation, we’ve noticed systematic overcharging, especially with their Priority Mail flat rate service. What was once a reliable flat rate has become a hidden expense due to misidentified flat rates by new barcode scanners.
Our Experience
ScanMyPhotos directly felt the impact of these inflated charges. Despite our efforts to seek refunds through the USPS portal, we’ve faced challenges in rectifying the situation. For instance, a package shipped from Edgewater, MD, to Irvine, CA incurred double the expected charge, highlighting a significant discrepancy. “The USPS flat rate boxes built our business,” we explained in the popular U.S. Postal Service commercial. To date, not a single refund payment has occurred even those we enter each overcharge into their portal!
Seeking Accountability
In 2020, USPS introduced initiatives like the Enterprise Payment System (EPS) and USPS Returns® to enhance pricing accuracy. However, the reality doesn’t align with these promises. Businesses are left grappling with excessive charges and limited avenues for recourse.
Taking Action
We aim to hold the USPS accountable for its actions by exposing these discrepancies. Transparency and fair pricing are essential for fostering trust between businesses and postal services.
Join the Conversation
We invite other businesses that have experienced similar overcharges to share their stories and how they resolved the issue. Together, we can advocate for fair and transparent practices in postal services.
Call to Action:
Ready to join the conversation and ensure fair pricing from the USPS? Share your experiences and help us advocate for change.
Subject: Every day, we experience overcharges from the USPS. These charges are double what they should be for fixed flat-rate priority mailbox services.
After successfully settling my $5.5 billion payment card antitrust class action, benefiting millions of businesses, I am onto another advocacy project. As a staunch pro-business and consumer advocate, I’ve uncovered a disturbing trend regarding the USPS, a service I’ve long revered. They even produced this commercial on why their flat-rate boxes built our company.
The problem: what has always been a flat rate has devolved into systematic overcharging. This revelation has significant implications, particularly for the millions of companies reliant on their Priority Mail flat rate service, wherein overcharges have become an insidious hidden expense. From my understanding, their new barcode scanners misidentify flat rates for standard Priority Mail.
As detailed in this article by Ecommerce Bytes, my company has fallen victim to these inflated charges. Our efforts have been futile despite our attempts to rectify the situation by seeking refunds through the USPS portal.
To illustrate the gravity of the issue, a package shipped from Edgewater, MD, to Irvine, CA, utilizing the Priority Mail flat rate service, incurred a fee of $32.61—more than double the expected $16.00 *fixed* rate charge. This blatant discrepancy is concerning, especially considering the USPS’s assurance of accurate pricing, as outlined in their email below with us in 2020.
According to a letter received in 2020, USPS implemented the Enterprise Payment System (EPS) to streamline postage funding processes, including the Merchandise Return Service (MRS) and Scan Based Payment (SBP). The introduction of USPS Returns® aimed to enhance pricing accuracy through automated verification and payment methods. However, the reality appears far removed from these promises, with businesses like ours grappling with exorbitant charges and a lack of recourse after submitting refunds.
I hope highlighting these discrepancies will hold the USPS accountable for their actions.
As background, USA Today published this article on my company.
