Retail
POM REVISION
Damage Report of Insured Parcel and Contents
Effective August 31, 2006, we are revising 146.112 of
the Postal Operations Manual (POM) to include a reference
to the new PS Form 2856, Damage Report of Insured Parcel and Contents, which appears on page 7 of this Postal
Bulletin. The form was created to ease compliance with
146.112.d, which requires an accepting employee to document damage to support indemnity claims.
Postal Operations Manual (POM)
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1 Retail Management
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14 Other Retail Services Management
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146 Indemnity Claims
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146.1 General Instructions for Filing Claims
146.11 How to File
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146.112 Accepting Post Office
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[Revise 146.112 items d and e to read as follows:]
d. For damage claims, indicate the location of the damaged article on PS Form 1000; complete PS Form
2856, Damage Report of Insured Parcel and Contents; and handle under 146.3. Provide any other
information that may help in the adjudication of the
claim.
e. Detach copy 2 of PS Form 1000 and give it to the
customer to retain until the claim is settled. Forward
copy 1 of the claim form and supporting documentation to the St. Louis Accounting Service Center for
processing. (For unnumbered Insured Mail, do not
mail copy 1 of PS Form 1000 to the St. Louis
Accounting Service Center until after processing
locally as described in 146.122.)
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146.124 Damage Claim Filed by Addressee
[Revise 146.124 to read as follows:]
If the addressee files a damage claim, part B of PS Form
1000 must be completed to show that the damaged article
and mailing container, including any wrapping, packaging,
and any other contents they received, were presented for
inspection when the claim was filed. Complete PS Form
2856, Damage Report of Insured Parcel and Contents, and
handle under 146.3. Provide any other information that may
help in the adjudication of the claim. The St. Louis ASC will
make payment to the person designated in section A 3a of
PS Form 1000 provided the original proof of insurance is
submitted with claim. If a dual claim is filed, the claim with
the original mailing receipt will be honored.
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Exhibit 146.124
Processing Claims for Damage or Partial Loss of
Contents
[Revise Exhibit 146.124 to read as follows:]
All Claims for Damaged/Missing Contents
• Complete PS Form 1000, part B, to show that the
damaged article and mailing container, including
wrapping, packaging, and any other contents that
were received, were presented for inspection when
the claim was filed.
• If necessary, return the article to the customer so that
an appraisal or estimate can be obtained.
• Use PS Form 3831, Receipt for Article(s) Damaged
in Mails, to provide a receipt for damaged articles.
Note the condition on the form.
• Payment is made to the customer presenting the
mailing receipt or to the addressee when designated
by the sender as payee.
Exception: (For numbered Insured Mail articles only)
If the addressee paid for repair to a partially damaged
article and the endorsement on the wrapper shows
that enough insurance was bought to cover the cost
of repairs, payment will be made to the addressee
unless a claim payment has already been made on
the numbered Insured Mail article.
• If the article has no salvage value (below $10.00),
allow the customer to keep it if the customer wants it;
otherwise, destroy it.
• If the completely damaged Insured Mail, COD, or
Express Mail article has salvage value, retain it until
the claim and all appeals are settled, and then forward it to the appropriate mail recovery center.
• For Registered Mail claims, retain the article and the
packaging until released by notification from the St.
Louis ASC.
• Detach copy 2 of PS Form 1000 and give it to the
customer to retain until the claim is settled.
• Complete PS Form 2856, Damage Report of Insured
Parcel and Contents. Provide any other information
that may help in the adjudication of the claim.
• Forward copy 1 of the claim form PS Form 1000; a
copy of PS Form 2856, Damage Report of Insured
Parcel and Contents; and supporting documentation
to the St. Louis Accounting Service Center for processing. (For unnumbered Insured Mail, do not mail
copy 1 of PS Form 1000 to the St. Louis Accounting
Service Center until after processing locally as described in 146.122.)
• Retain copies of all forms and documentation locally.
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146.3 Disposition
146.31 Damaged Article
[Revise 146.31 to read as follows:]
For a completely damaged article with little or no salvage
value (under $10.00), allow the customer to keep the article
if the customer wants it; items that may be of a hazardous
nature to employees must be destroyed. If the completely
damaged Insured Mail, COD, or Express Mail article has
salvage value, retain it until the claim and all appeals are
settled, then forward it to the appropriate mail recovery center. For Registered Mail damage claims, retain the article
and packaging at the Post Office until released by
notification from the St. Louis ASC. Provide the customer
with PS Form 3831, Receipt for Article(s) Damaged in
Mails.
St. Louis ASC will notify the customer in writing that the
claimant has 30 days from the date of denial action to recover the article and that he/she has no recourse if, subsequently, the item is disposed of after the 30 days. Articles
on which claims are paid, on which the customer has not
filed an appeal, or on which the customer fails to recover,
should be forwarded to the appropriate mail recovery center on the next weekly dispatch. The status of a claim can
be obtained by calling the St. Louis ASC Help Desk at
866-974-2733. Articles being sent to the mail recovery center should not be stripped of the insured labels and must
include a copy of the paid claim letter or notice that the item
is ready for auction. Always document disposition of damaged articles. Make sure the disposition of the damaged
article is clearly annotated on PS Form 1000.
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We will incorporate this revision into the next printed edition of the POM and into the next update of the online POM,
available on the Postal Service™ PolicyNet Web site:
• Go to http://blue.usps.gov.
• Under "Essential Links" in the left-and column, click
on References.
• Under "References" in the right-hand column, under
"Policies," click on PolicyNet.
• Click on Manuals.
(The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet Web
site is http://blue.usps.gov/cpim.)
— Consumer Advocate, 8-31-06
NEW FORM
PS Form 2856, Damage Report of Insured Parcel and Contents
The new PS Form 2856, Damage Report of Insured
Parcel and Contents, (August 2006), complies with the
requirements of Postal Operations Manual 146.112.d. Use
this form when an accepting employee needs to document
damage to support indemnity claims. A copy of PS Form
2856 appears on page 7 of this Postal Bulletin.
PS Form 2856 is available from the Material Distribution
Center (MDC). You can order the from the MDC and use
touch tone order entry (TTOE): Call 800-332-0317, option 2.
Note: You must be registered to use TTOE. To register, call
800-332-0317, option 1, extension 2925, and follow the
prompts to leave a message. (Wait 48 hours after registering before placing your first order.)
Use the following information to order PS Form 2856:
PSIN: PS 2856
PSN: 7530-09-000-3988
Unit of Measure: EA
Minimum Order Quantity: 1
Quick Pick Number: N/A
Bulk Pack Quantity: N/A
Price: $0.0177
PS Form 2856 is available online at the Postal Service™
PolicyNet Web site:
• Go to http://blue.usps.gov.
• Under "Essential Links" in the left-hand column, click
on References.
• Under "References" in the right-hand column, under
"Policies," click on PolicyNet.
• Click on Forms.
(The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet Web
site is http://blue.usps.gov/cpim.)
— Consumer Advocate, 8-31-06
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