WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service will start reclaiming postage discounts from First-Class mailers who do not comply with its Move Update rules, officials said at the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee meeting here yesterday.
Move Update, which began in 1997, aims to reduce undeliverable-as-addressed mail, which costs the postal service $1.8 billion a year. Mailers using automation or presort rates are required to update addresses every 180 days with a USPS-approved method, such as the Address Change Service, National Change of Address, FastForward or ancillary service endorsements.
The decision to reclaim the discounts followed tests last year in several areas, including the Southeast, Pacific and the New York and Washington metro areas, that revealed some mailers did not use Move Update properly.
“We did see some deficiencies in the test and noticed that some companies were not keeping their address lists updated, yet [they were] still getting the discount,” said Angelo Wider, manager of finance for the USPS.
The assessed amount relates only to the portion of mail found in noncompliance.
The postal service plans a training and communication program this month to tell mailers about the enforcement ramp-up. The USPS has not set a specific date to begin reclaiming discounts.
