Sheridan Magazine Services: News Releases

Move Update Penalty Postponed

May 2009 —The USPS has announced that it has extended the implementation of Standard Mail Move Update non-compliance charges from May 11, 2009, to January 4, 2010. Once imposed, this new charge will apply to mailings from Standard mailers that fail to fully comply with the Move Update standards.

Delaying implementation not only allows the Postal Service time to provide its Standard Mail customers with additional feedback from new postage verification systems, but also permits the opportunity to re-think the penalty itself and how it is applied. Addressing attendees at the IDEAlliance Conference in Florida in late March, Senior Vice President of Intelligent Mail and Address Quality Tom Day said that applying the 7-cent penalty for Standard Mail across the whole mailing is a "pretty stiff penalty," adding that the USPS had decided this was not the time to take a hard line with Move Update compliance.

Day cautioned, however, that the rules that have been in effect for some time still apply. Although the USPS will not use Performance-Based Verification to determine compliance, mailers are still required to work toward meeting the Move Update standards. And those who intend to claim automation or presort prices must be in compliance.

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