As noted in the article titled "IMM Revision: International
Inquiry, Claims, and Postage Refund Processes" in Postal
Bulletin 22172 (1-19-06, pages 20 and 45-50), effective
January 17, 2006, customers should call 800-222-1811 to
inquire about the status of registered, recorded delivery,
and insured or ordinary parcel post items.
Customers must allow sufficient time for delivery of the
mailpiece to the foreign country and must initiate inquiries
within the following time limits:
• For articles sent by Global Express Guaranteed® service or Global Express Mail® with Guarantee service,
not earlier than 3 days from the date of mailing but
not later than 30 days.
• For articles sent by Global Express Mail service, not
earlier than 3 days from the date of mailing but not
later than 90 days.
• For registered letter post, recorded delivery, or insured and ordinary parcel post sent by airmail, not
earlier than 7 days from the date of mailing but not
later than 6 months.
• For registered letter post, recorded delivery, or insured and ordinary parcel post sent by economy
(surface) mail, not earlier than 30 days from the date
of mailing but not later than 6 months.
Prior to the new process of making inquiries by telephone, customers were required to go to their local Post
OfficesTM to complete PS Form 542, Inquiry About a Registered Article or an Insured Parcel or an Ordinary Article. PS Form 542 is now obsolete and is no longer part of the
inquiry process. However, if a customer presents an already completed PS Form 542, the retail associate must
add the customer's telephone number to the form and send
the completed form to the following address:
INTERNATIONAL INQUIRY CENTER
PO BOX 39955
DENVER CO 80239-0955
For further information about international inquiries and
claims, please review the following "Frequently Asked
Questions" and their answers.
1. The new international inquiry procedures are effective for packages mailed after January 1, 2006, but
how do customers file an inquiry on packages mailed
before that date?
Even if a package was mailed before January 1,
2006, customers should call 800-222-1811 to initiate
inquiries for mail sent to or from all foreign countries
within the time limits listed above.
2. How will customers be notified of the results of their
inquiries?
The International Inquiry Center will notify customers
of the results of the inquiry via telephone or letter.
If an inquiry results in a determination that the item
was lost, damaged, or rifled (i.e., if contents were
missing), the International Inquiry Center will send
the customer PS Form 2855, Claim for Indemnity -
International Registered, Insured, and Express Mail, with instruction to complete the form and return it,
with supporting documentation, to the St. Louis
Accounting Service Center (ASC).
If the claim is for a Global Express Mail article, the
International Inquiry Center will include in the claim
package PS Form 2861, Express Mail International
Service Inquiry, and, if applicable, PS Form 3533, Application and Voucher for Refund of Postage,
Fees, and Services. |
3. How does the customer file the claim?
A customer can file a claim in either of the following
situations:
• After making an inquiry for mail sent to or from any
foreign country.
• After receiving a damaged article mailed from a
foreign country.
If the claim is a result of an inquiry, the customer must
file the claim by completing PS Form 2855. The customer must attach evidence of insurance, evidence
of value, and any other documentation to support the
claim and return the claim form to the following
address:
ST LOUIS ASC
PO BOX 80146
ST LOUIS MO 63180-0146
If the customer received a damaged article mailed
from a foreign country, the customer may file a claim
at a local Post Office by requesting PS Form 2855.
The customer must present the article and mailing
container, including the wrapper, packaging, and any
other contents that were received. To support the
claim, the customer must also present evidence of insurance or ordinary indemnity coverage, and evidence of value.
4. What is the new ordinary parcel indemnity coverage?
Indemnity for ordinary (i.e., uninsured) parcels became part of the air and economy parcel post service
effective January 1, 2006. The ordinary indemnity is
based on the weight of the package (not the value of
the contents). In POS ONE and IRT offices, this calculation is done automatically. In manual offices, personnel perform the calculation based on the table in International Mail Manual (IMM) Exhibit 281.4. This
table was also published in the article titled "IMM Revision: Changes in International Mail" in Postal
Bulletin 22169 (12-8-05, pages 18-25 - the table
appears on pages 19 and 20).
5. What is the difference between ordinary indemnity
and insured service?
The difference between the new ordinary indemnity
and insured service is that ordinary indemnity is
provided at no additional charge and is based on the
weight of the package, which may or may not reflect
the value of the contents of the package. A customer
may still purchase insurance to many destinations -
check the individual country listing in the IMM for service availability. If the customer purchases insurance,
the ordinary indemnity does not apply.
— International Products,
Product Development, 2-16-06 |
