Effective June 2, 2011, Handbook F-101, Field Accounting Procedures, is revised to require all POS ONE, IRT, and eMOVES offices to record postage due (including over-the-counter pickup) on the revised PS Form 3584, Postage Due Log, and account for the amount collected in AIC 114. POS ONE systems will require separating shortpaid, forward/return to sender, and product entries. For IRT and eMOVES offices, the only requirement is to enter postage due collected into AIC 114.
Handbook F-101, Field Accounting Procedures
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17 Customer Business Reply Mail and Postage Due Activity
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[Revise title of 17-3 to read as follows:]
17-3 Non–Trust Account Business Reply Mail and Postage Due Activities
17-3.1 Handling Over-the-Counter Pickup
[Revise text of 17-3.1 to read as follows:]
Over-the-counter postage due mail is mail for which postage is collected directly from the customer upon delivery for non–trust account BRM, shortpaid, or forward/return to sender articles. Postage is not withdrawn from a customer trust account.
When retail associates (RAs) retrieve an over-the-counter postage due article from the Left Notice area, they must record the postage due and fee, when applicable, on a PS Form 3584. Upon receiving payment for the required postage and fee, when applicable, postal retail units must record the amount into AIC 114, Postage Due Invoice.
At POS ONE offices, the RA will do the following:
1. Access the “Mail Pickup” workflow.
2. Select “Postage Due.”
3. Select the appropriate postage due category.
4. Key in the amount.
5. Tender the transaction.
6. Issue the customer the POS customer receipt.
At non–POS ONE offices, the RA will do the following:
1. Enter the miscellaneous AIC 114.
2. Key in the amount.
3. Issue the customer the receipt.
The RA should secure the PS Form 3584 and submit it as documentation with a daily PS Form 1412.
[Revise title and text of 17-3.2 to read as follows:]
17-3.2 Carrier Delivery — City, Rural, and Contract Delivery Route
Non–trust account BRM and postage due must be consigned to city, rural, and contract delivery route carriers and box clerks on PS Form 3584. The same form is used to clear the delivering employee of responsibility.
[Revise title and text of 17-3.3 to read as follows:]
17-3.3 Consigning Non–Trust Account Business Reply Mail and Postage Due
Each article of non–trust account BRM and postage due must be clearly marked with the amount due before sorting to the delivering employee. If an additional service fee is due, the article should also be clearly marked with the fee amount due. The article then must go to the appropriate delivering employee who will withdraw any article known to be undeliverable.
The value of postage due and additional service fee, when applicable, must be entered in the appropriate column by route on PS Form 3584. Delivering employees accept responsibility for the non–trust account BRM and postage due by initialing the Postage Due Log.
Rural carriers, at their option, may pay for the non–trust account BRM and postage due at the time of consignment using PS Form 3584 and must follow these requirements:
a. When the carrier chooses to pay in advance, complete the checkout side of PS Form 3584, record the amount collected, and initial under the check-in portion. The carrier must initial in the appropriate column.
b. Prepare separate forms listing routes served for each assigning employee.
c. Adequately secure the forms while carriers are pending clearance.
d. Use ink to make entries.
e. Initial changes (both the delivering and assigning employee).
[Revise title and text of 17-3.4 to read as follows:]
17-3.4 Clearing Non–Trust Account Business Reply Mail and Postage Due
As the delivering employees return, the clearing employee must do the following:
a. Complete the employee check-in section of PS Form 3584, entering the amount of postage and fees for articles returned and the amount collected in the appropriate column.
b. Subtract the returned amount from the accepted amount to arrive at the amount to collect from the delivering employee. The delivering employee must pay the necessary funds and initial.
c. Initial the PS Form 3584 to release the delivering employee of responsibility.
d. Send the returned articles at regular intervals to the appropriate customer service unit for over-the-counter delivery.
If a rural carrier who paid the postage due in advance returns any articles, the clearing employee should take the following action using a blank line on PS Form 3584:
a. Enter the route number.
b. On the check-in side, enter the number of pieces and the amount in the article returned columns.
c. In the amount collected column, enter the amount of the returned article(s) in brackets, thus representing a negative amount.
d. Refund the amount to the carrier.
e. Initial and have the carrier initial.
After clearing all delivering employees who report non–trust account BRM and postage due, the clearing employee must do the following:
a. Complete PS Form 3584.
b. If the clearing employee does not prepare an individual PS Form 1412, submit PS Form 3584 and funds collected as entered in Block 3 to the PRU for processing.
c. If the clearing employee prepares an individual PS Form 1412 or, for PRU processing, PS Form 3584, enter the amount collected into AIC 114 as in section 17-3.1. POS ONE offices must enter each postage due category from the PS Form 3584 separately.
17-3.5 Verifying PS Form 3584, Postage Due Log
[Revise the text of 17-3.5 to read as follows:]
The Amount Collected columns on PS Form 3584 must be verified by the unit manager or supervisor at least once a month. The individual line entries of one randomly selected PS Form 3584 from each delivery unit must be verified. The manager or supervisor performing the verification must annotate the PS Form 3584 “verified” and sign it.
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We will incorporate this revision into the next printed version of the POM and also into the online version available on the Postal Service™ PolicyNet website:
n Go to http://blue.usps.gov.
n Under “Essential Links” in the left-hand column, click References.
n Under PolicyNet, click Manuals.
(The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet website is http://blue/usps.gov/cpim.)
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— Shipping Products, Domestic Products
and Customer Service Standardization,
Delivery & Post Office Operations, 6-2-11
