IMM Revision: International Changes to Claims Forms

Effective May 11, 2009, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) subchapters 710, 920, and 930. These revisions will reflect changes to the forms used to initiate and process international indemnity claims for Global Express Guaranteed® (GXG®) parcels, Express Mail International® parcels, Registered Mail™ parcels, and insured or ordinary parcels.

To streamline and synchronize claim procedures, we have implemented a new claim form that will be used for both domestic and international claims. The new form — PS Form 1000, Domestic or International Claim — has an edition date of March 2009 and replaces all previous edi­tions of PS Form 1000. For international claims, the revised PS Form 1000 replaces PS Form 2855, Claim for Indemnity International Registered Mail, Insured, Ordi­nary Parcel, and Express Mail. A copy of the revised PS Form 1000 appears in the article titled “Centralized Claim Process Update” in Postal Bulletin 22254 (3-12-09, pages 12–14).

In addition, for the disposition of damaged mail, the sal­vage value of an article will increase from $10.00 to $25.00.

Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)

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7 Treatment of Inbound Mail

710 U.S. Customs Information

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713 Treatment of Dutiable Mail at Delivery Office

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713.6 Refund of Customs Duty

713.61 Action by Postmaster

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713.612 Addressee’s Request for Refund

[Revise the first sentence of the introductory paragraph as follows (replacing the reference to PS Form 2855 with PS Form 1000):]

If the addressee wishes to request a refund of duty from the Customs Service and intends to file an indemnity claim with the Postal Service, he or she must present the contents, container, and complete wrapping to the postmaster for the inspection in conjunction with the preparation of PS Form 1000, Domestic or International Claim.***

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9 Inquiries, Indemnities, and Refunds

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920 Inquiries and Claims

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922 Claims

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922.2 Filing a Claim

[Revise the fourth sentence by replacing the word “rifled” with the words “missing contents” as follows:]

***Claims for items that have damaged or missing contents should be filed immediately.***

Exhibit 922.2
Filing Claims

[Revise the exhibit to read as follows (replacing the word “rifled” in the heading with the words “missing contents,” replacing references to PS Form 2855 with PS Form 1000, and modifying the footnote):]

 

Product or Extra Service

Who

How

Lost Article

Damaged/Missing Contents

GXG and Express Mail International

U.S. Sender Only

800-222-1811

800-222-1811

GXG and Express Mail International (article returned to sender)

U.S. Sender Only

N/A

Any Post Office*
(PS Form 1000)

Registered Mail or insured/ordinary parcels

Sender or Addressee

800-222-1811

Any Post Office*
(PS Form 1000)

* Must immediately present the article, mailing container, wrapping, packaging, and any other contents received in damaged condition or with missing contents to a Post Office for inspection. Customers in receipt of an item from Canada that is in damaged condition or has some or all of its contents missing must instruct the Canadian sender to file a claim.

922.3 Claims Process

[Revise the text to read as follows:]

When there is a determination that an item was lost or has damaged or missing contents, the customer will receive PS Form 1000, Domestic or International Claim.

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[Revise the title of 922.4 to read as follows:]

922.4 Processing Claims for Damaged or Missing Contents

922.41 Customer

The customer must:

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[Revise item “b” to read as follows:]

b. Complete all fields on PS Form 1000.

922.42 Postal Service

Postal Service personnel must:

[Revise items “a” and “d” to read as follows:]

a. Verify that all applicable fields on PS Form 1000 are complete.

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d. Send PS Form 1000 and related documents, includ­ing the customs label and the wrapper, if appropriate, to:

International Claims
Accounting Services
PO Box 80146
St. Louis, MO 63180-0146

923 Disposition of Damaged Mail

Dispose of damaged Registered Mail, insured parcels, and ordinary parcels for which claims have been filed as follows:

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b. International insured parcels, ordinary parcels, and Canadian Registered Mail:

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[Revise items b2 and b3 to change the salvage value from $10.00 to $25.00 and replace “the St. Louis ASC” with “Accounting Services” as follows:]

2. If the claim is for total damage and the article has salvage value ($25.00 or more), retain the article and the packaging at the Post Office facility until the claim is settled and disposition instructions are received from Accounting Services.***

3. If the claim is for total damage and the article has no salvage value (under $25.00), return the article to the customer, or, with the customer’s consent, dispose of the article with the understanding that the Postal Service will assume no responsibility if the claim is denied.

930 Indemnity Payments

931 Adjudication and Approval

931.1 When to Be Instituted

[Revise the text to read as follows:]

Claims for indemnity are initiated upon receipt of a com­pleted PS Form 1000 with appropriate documentation by International Claims, Accounting Services, PO Box 80146, St. Louis, MO 63180-0146.

931.2 International Claims

931.21 Indemnity Claims for International Registered Mail, Insured Parcels, and Ordinary Parcels of U.S. and Foreign Origin

[Revise the text to read as follows:]

Indemnity claims relating to international Registered Mail and insured and ordinary parcels of both U.S. and foreign origin are adjudicated by Accounting Services in St. Louis, Missouri.

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931.3 Appeals

931.31 Appealing a Claims Decision

[Revise the second sentence to read as follows:]

***The customer must send the appeal directly to Interna­tional Claims Appeals, Accounting Services, PO Box 80146, St. Louis, MO 63180-0146.

931.32 Final Postal Service Decision of Claims

[Revise the address to read as follows:]

***Consumer Advocate, International Claim Appeals, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW Rm 10343, Washington DC 20260-2200,***

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We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed version of the IMM and into the online IMM, which is avail­able via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.