Rebates 'burned' by USPS...grrrr

SiliconJon · 07-06-2008, 12:51 PM

$75 worth the rebates flushed thanks to being a penny short on postage on two different rebate envelopes. I've never been to fond of USPS, but the loathing hath returned to full flavor again.

I can think of a couple reasons why this is my fault. 1) I should have known to check stamp prices due to skyrocketing fuel costs 2) I should have gone to the post office like I always to have them spot check it for me 3) I should have bought "forever" stamps

Now for my blame on them: How is it cost effective to return my letter to me for free rather than just deliver it for the same cost in protest of a penny short on postage? How did my paying you for this stamp months ago and the interest accrued by such delayed use not allow for a penny worth the leway? And how is it cost effective to have your well paid personnel take the time to sell me 4 penny stamps to up the postage on my remaining stamps? Is it even cost effective to produce a $.01 stamp without the transaction cost considered?

I understand the rate hike, but the customer service reeks of a government mandated monopoly that could care less about its customers because it knows it needs not to.

It's enough to make someone want to go postal!

Prince Lalijama · 07-06-2008, 05:33 PM

Wouldn't you rather go UPS?

Bureaucracy is a beast.

Wouldn't it be nice if they just sent you a letter demanding you pay for the stamp on the letter as well as the postage? Even I know that will never happen.

SiliconJon · 07-07-2008, 11:12 AM

It's lunacy either way, and it would have cost me the same should they have sent a letter demanding its postage plus the penny short.

They were just letters, though large letters, so UPS would be grossly overpriced. It would be nice to see my mailbox opened up to some USPS competition, though...but not in the form of "business anarchy".

Prince Lalijama · 07-07-2008, 01:58 PM

Then what you wish they would have just paid for it themselves?

SiliconJon · 07-07-2008, 03:09 PM

Paid for what themselves? Delivering the letters by taking them just one way instead of taking the resources to send them back for free? They were returned by the recipient due to delivery refusal / refusal to pay postage due ($.01) by the receiving end.

Prince Lalijama · 07-07-2008, 08:25 PM

Thats a little bit of a waste, although I can see why the company might have refused.

SiliconJon · 07-09-2008, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prince Lalijama

Thats a little bit of a waste, although I can see why the company might have refused.

Well yeah, it's an easy way out of a rebate and it's not their responsibility. I'm referring to the Post Office - is that not clear?

Quote:

Originally Posted by shawnwmodel

when you mentioned "forever" stamps are you talking about those first class stamps? Because if you are (and to anyone else thats reading this) they are not "forever" stamps. The USPS can tell when it came out andl adjusts the postage to the year it came out.

I had a mail sent back to me because I used one of those "forever" stamps and was told that the stamp was from last year and they had raised the postage by 2 cents this year, so I had to cough up 2 cent...

Supposedly there are stamps at the post office that are good "forever" that do not expire, or rather are worth whatever the current single stamp price is throughout the future. These aren't the same as the plain first class stamps you get out of machines, though. Even though such machine stamps don't show the postage they are different from the "forever stamps" that do not show postage and keep the current postage value throughout future price increases.

SiliconJon · 07-09-2008, 10:51 AM

Wholey crap, I travelled back in time!

shawnwmodel · 07-09-2008, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SiliconJon

3) I should have bought "forever" stamps

when you mentioned "forever" stamps are you talking about those first class stamps? Because if you are (and to anyone else thats reading this) they are not "forever" stamps. The USPS can tell when it came out andl adjusts the postage to the year it came out.

I had a mail sent back to me because I used one of those "forever" stamps and was told that the stamp was from last year and they had raised the postage by 2 cents this year, so I had to cough up 2 cent...

Prince Lalijama · 07-09-2008, 10:14 PM

It's quite possible it is not clear, I thought you said you were sending rebates to a company and they refused to pay the missing postage, USPS didn't notice that the postage was missing before they sent the letter to the company?