posted on June 11, 2001 03:40:28 PM
It seems that since I have switched from going to the PO and started using stamps.com, that my PM DC's are not being scanned. I went from an average of 3 scans per package (origination, Bell DC, Delivery) to only one scan (delivery) in about 6 packages! Why am I paying for DC if the PO doesn't scan the bar code? Anybody else have this problem or is just me? Also, it creates a problem with PayPal if any of these items need proof of delivery. Since the PO didn't scan, PayPal says it wasn't sent! AAARRRRGGGHHH!
Dakota1 (nowhere but here)
had to edit to make more sense! double aarrgghh!
[ edited by Dakota1 on Jun 11, 2001 03:42 PM ]
posted on June 11, 2001 03:46:44 PM
If you want the item scanned at acceptance, you'll have to stand in line at the PO or work out some other arrangement with your post office.
Delivery Confirmation is just that -- confirmation that the package made it to its intended zip code.
It's only proof of mailing in PayPal's twisted world.
And as soon as crooks get ahold of Endicia & start misusing its free automatic DC, you can bet PayPal will rethink its DC policy and only accept delivery scans.
posted on June 11, 2001 04:06:54 PM
When DC first began it was wonderful. As you noted, there were multiple scans along the way. The fact that you switched to PCPostage has nothing to do with the lack of scans.
I send hundreds of DC items per month and have watched the decline of the number of scans. I asked one day at the local Post Office and the supervisor said he had seen a memorandum come through that said the frequent DC scanning that occured in the program's inception had been scaled back to origination and destination scans. The reason... DC is too labor intensive for intermediate scans and was not cost effective for the postal service.
posted on June 11, 2001 04:07:12 PM vargas Scanning at its' origin doesn't matter, as long as it gets scanned along the way...somewhere. My problem is, the last 6 PM w/DC, I had only 1 scanned at all. One scan at delivery. The other 5 packages had no, none, nada, scan at all.
That would be 5 packages that I would have to deal with PayPal about if they were 'never' delivered.
posted on June 11, 2001 05:09:45 PM
I never trust the PO with any of the scans. That's why I stand in line to watch them scan in the packages at drop off. I've done that for the year-and-a-half I've been using PC postage.
It's the only way to guarantee the DC form gets scanned at all.
posted on June 12, 2001 01:17:50 PMWith ENDICIA, your DC is scanned into the PO database directly from your PC -- NICE!
Let me clarify this a bit (I'm with Endicia.com). When you print a Delivery Confirmation label with Endicia software, a background message is transmitted to a USPS Web server. The message contains the complete sender's address, the complete destination address, the package weight, and a few other parameters. The USPS server returns the numerical PIC code which is used to form the DC barcode. All of this happens in the background, during the printing process.
This process "registers" the package with the USPS, but it is not quite the same as a subsequent scan. If the sender does not deposit the package in the USPS mailstream, the package status will forever say "Package accepted at XXXX, YY {your local city and state) at 10:00 PM on {today's date)". But this is only an ASSUMPTION on the part of the USPS --not the result of a scan.
To learn more about how/when DC is actually scanned, please see my May 11th post on this AuctionWatch thread.
That's still better than what I had before! If I printed reg postage via STAMPS.COM & attached a DC label to it & dropped the package into a mailbox, the ONLY notation that WOULD EVER pop up on the USPS web-site was AFTER delivery! That's because my PO would NOT scan items left in mailboxes! Some do--mine doesn't!
posted on June 12, 2001 02:40:13 PMDakota: If I were you, I'd bring those DC receipts you have (from the ones that were never scanned) to the post office, ask them to get the tracking information from them. Since they were never scanned, the PO will not be able to get any info from them either. Then tell the PO you want a REFUND on all of those non-scanned DC receipts since you paid for a service you DID NOT GET!
posted on June 12, 2001 04:37:05 PM vargas That was the main reason I went to stamps.com, so I would not have to wait in line at my local PO.
ExecutiveGirl Do you really think that the PO would refund the unscanned DC?
HarryWhitehouse So does the DC that your company prints give an actual number as the PO does so my customers can track it online also? (probably a stupid question, I know...)
posted on June 12, 2001 04:47:57 PMDakota1 asked "Do you really think that the PO would refund the unscanned DC?"
Yes, if you are using the non-electronic option, you paid the USPS 40 cents for this service. Print a USPS Form 3533 from the USPS Web site, fill it out, and they should refund you if you can show them that the package was never scanned (I suspect a printout from the USPS Web site tracking page would be good evidence.)
Theoretically, the same "refund" is available for electronic DC. But since electronic DC has no associated charge, it wouldn't be a very productive use of your time <g>.
"So does the DC that your company prints give an actual number as the PO does so my customers can track it online also?"
Yes, it's the standard PIC number (16 digits) and you can track it by either going to the USPS tracking site or (more easily) by just going to your local postage log (part of the program), highlighting the transaction in question, and pushing a "Status" button. The latter process queries the same USPS database accessed if you go to the Web site and returns the same information. But with the latter process, you don't need to type or copy the tracking number -- it's part of the postage log.
[ edited by HarryWhitehouse on Jun 12, 2001 04:49 PM ]
posted on June 12, 2001 05:12:44 PMDakota: Yes, I think you are entitled to a refund, since you paid for a service you did not get.
I know someone who paid for a letter to be mailed certified with return receipt. Well they never got the green return receipt back, but the person said they had received the letter, they just never had to sign for it. The sender had to fill out a form at the PO, and I believe they were refunded the fee they paid for the return receipt that they never received.
I honestly don't know how the PO can refuse to refund you. You PAID them to do a service that they DID NOT do. If they wouldn't refund you, that would be considered fraud of some sort, wouldn't it?
