Background

The Tipton, IA, Post Office is located in the Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota District of the Central Area. Metered mail is any mail class or product with postage printed with a Postal Service approved postage meter or PC Postage product/system. Unused metered indicia are postage amounts (which may include fees) already imprinted onto any mailpiece, shipping label or meter strip (stamp) that was never mailed. Such meter indicia are considered for refund only if complete, legible, and valid.

To obtain a refund, the customer must submit the postage meter stamps, impressions or other evidence requested for refund along with the required Postal Service (PS) Form 3533, Application for Refund of Fees, Products and Withdrawal of Customer Accounts. The Postal Service assesses fees to process the refunds and deducts them from the customer’s refund amount.

OIG data analytics identified the Tipton, IA, Post Office meter refunds totaling about $183,970 from April 1, 2019 to November 30, 2020, the eighth highest in the nation. We noted that there is a major mailer located in Tipton, IA.

Our objective was to determine whether meter refunds were properly issued, supported, and processed.

Read full report

Source: USPS Office of Inspector General