STAND-UP TALK
How to Handle Address Change Service Mail
Below are some suggestions for handling Address
Change Service (ACS) mail. Use this to talk informally to
your employees and post on a bulletin board in your office.
Why ACS?
ACS allows businesses to get change-of-address (COA)
and undeliverable-as-addressed information electronically.
Using ACS makes good business sense for them, as well
as for the Postal ServiceTM.
Because address changes are sent electronically, the
Postal Service avoids manual sorting or returning of undeliverable pieces, and customers don't have to sort through
individual pieces and make changes manually.
How to Recognize It
We owe it to our customers and to ourselves to handle
this mail correctly. Whether the ACS mailpiece has a COA
order on file or is undeliverable for reasons other than a
move - whether it a is First Class Mail®, Standard Mail®,
Periodicals, or Package Services item - whatever endorsement it may bear:
• If you see "Participant Code," a pound sign (#),
and the letter "B" followed by six additional letters (all printed above the address block), it's
ACS mail!
How to Handle It
Letter carriers and P.O. Box clerks - You do not need to
change the way you handle the mail. Continue to separate
COA and Nixie/Return to Sender (RTS) mail. Continue to
separate Nixie/RTS mail by the reason it is undeliverable.
Do not mark out or cover up any part of the address, the
participant code, or keyline right above the address. We
need this information for correct processing.
Employees working in Nixie/RTS operations - For any
class of mail, with any endorsement, if you see the ACS
Participant Code, it's ACS mail.
Non-Postal Automated Redirection System offices -
For letters, flats, and parcels:
• Separate the ACS mail from the other Nixie/RTS undeliverable pieces.
• Sort the ACS mail by ZIP CodeTM and the undeliverable reason code, and bundle separately.
• Write the single character reason for non-delivery on
the top piece of each bundle.
• Do not mark out or cover up any part of the address,
the ACS participant code, or the keyline right above
the address.
• Send it to the Computerized Forwarding System unit
for proper handling.
Postal Automated Redirection System (PARS) offices -
For flats and parcels:
• Follow the instructions above for non-PARS offices.
For letters:
• Do not separate ACS mail from other RTS mail.
• Do not mark out or cover up any part of the address,
the ACS participant code, or the keyline right above
the address.
• Prepare mail for PARS processing.
— Customer Service Support,
Delivery and Retail, 2-15-07
Post this stand-up talk on bulletin boards
|
