USPS Cost Adjustment is out of control

[jbsound8o2e]

I have been selling on eBay for several years and have never had a single USPS cost adjustment. Now, in a span of two weeks I have had three. All three have been small flat rate boxes where the post office says the service on label was USPS Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box but the actual service was USPS Priority Mail Service.

First of all, I don't use priority mail that often as I sell small stuff that usually goes first class, so I remember each of the three small flat rate boxes I sent out recently. It is hard to screw up a flat rate box. None of the packages were over a couple of pounds, so I was well within the weight limit for a small flat rate box. The only error I can think of is I put a flat rate label on one of my boxes. I didn't think I did that on the first package, and I know for a fact that I didn't do it on the second two.

After the first email stating I had automatically been charged an adjustment, I contact the post office and filed an appeal. I learned they actually take pictures of each package and would be able to see if I had made a mistake. A couple of days ago I got notification that my money the automatically took from my account had been refunded, so I guess I hadn't made a mistake after all. I will be filing a claim again on the second two packages because I am 100% sure I used small flat rate postage and packages on both of them.

It is just too coincidental that after years of not having this problem, I have had three in such a short span, all on the same kind of shipments. In fact, I am pretty sure I have only had three small flat rate boxes sent out over the last few weeks and 100% of them have been adjusted. My question to the community is are any of you having this issue or is it just me? Thanks in advance for any feedback or ideas.

[etrusca]

Sounds to me like you are entitled to a refund - I would demand it - that way it further documents

the problem in the system as I am sure many more are going to be seeking compensation- they should post a message about it - interesting that they were so quick themselves to charge you, especially now that they know there is a problem internally - challenge is once the label is made on Ebay or online the PO in person is 0 help

Maybe the previous poster could show how they filed the appeal online on usps.com that would be helpful!

thanks

[etrusca]

thanks - I understand all that has been posted I am just saying in addition to faulty boxes it is worth making sure the postage you are in fact paying/ printing aligns with normal reasonable adjustred flat rates vs Priority to begin with as frankly I dont trust the ebay label system right now either- I need to correct myself re how to get satisfaction- the other poster mentioned they had no success with usps but got a credit showing on their Ebay invoice which means that Ebay and USPS are communicating and someone knew to issue that credit to the member...thats why it seems suspicious. I did get confirmation from some cs in shipping & selling dept during my 7-8 calls over the last 2 months others had reported problems with the label system post 1/28 they just arent posting in forum as it may not get you any results. thanks for your efforts

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@etrusca wrote: ... I double checked I do have a newer Priority  "Large Mailing Box" so titled ordered from USPS last year or 2017 which is in fact the same size as C ...

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That box was available only for a few months. Coincidentally, that period was immediately after the Regional C boxes were discontinued.  The theory around here was that USPS were using up the old contract for the Regional C boxes.  It's not available any more.  And for Zones 5 - 9  it shipped at the dimensional rate of course.

[manshawnsshop]

Well,

I am sad to see all of this, and, oddly enough relieved at the same time knowing it's not just me.(That's why I came to the message boards first thing this morning)

I have been doing this for years, fully aware of all the shipping options, boxes, weights, sizes, E.T.C.

I honestly liked the idea of this when I first heard about it as I have received my share of packages with incorrect use of weight, dimensions and so on. My mindset being USPS is  finally doing something about those abusing the system.

Never once did it ever cross my mind I would receive one for my packages.

About 3 weeks ago I received one for incorrect dimensions, and, right in the message itself it told me my dimensions were correct. The thing that blew my mind was how did they even come up with the $18 adjustment ?

(The dimensions stated on my package label, and, well, ironically enough the actual corrected dimensions are identical, and, yes they were correct as to the original shipped package !)

I contacted USPS and was told they would reply within 2-5 days.(That was 17 days ago) And I have heard nothing back.

Well, last night(03-22-19), BOOM, another one. This time for "using a Region B box and trying to pull it off as a Region A box"

-$7.68 And, no, I did not use a Regional B box, heck the item was the perfect size for a A box, trying to put this item in a B box would require a lot of extra packing paper. But the real kicker is, the item weighed 3.5 pounds and the price options were:

$10.24 Reg A

$15.13 Regular USPS Priority Mail

$17.94 Reg B

So, not quite sure where the Reg B even came into play at when regular USPS Priority Mail would have been cheaper.

I still have not heard back from anyone at USPS and yes, the money was immediately withdrawn from my Paypal account, the first one I had just transferd my balance, so, they were kind enough to use my backup funding method !!!

Here is the picture from the first one, which, will probably make you scratch your head like it did me. And, I am completely clueless as to how it could even amount to $18 ?

[berserkerplanet]

That adjustment based on incorrect dimensions makes no sense.

Do you have another of the Reg A boxes from the batch the one that got flagged last night came from? If so, what is the barcode number on it? Is it PS00014000052 or PS00014000053 or something else?

[robot-hands]

They just tried to cost adjust me with an underpayment of $10.76

It didn't even cost $10 to ship the thing in the first place and we paid $9+

PO trying to double their flavor.

[robot-hands]

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@penguins_dont_fly wrote:

or bulges so that the flaps aren't folded correctly, they no longer qualify for "Flat Rate" postage.

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If it fits, it ships.

Someone gave you bad intel on that.

[manshawnsshop]

Hello,

Tell me about it, I tried forever to figure out the $18 adjustment, went to USPS.com, rate calculator, everything, I gave up trying to figure it out. 

And, yes, PS00014000053 is the bar code on the A boxes I have, I use A boxes quite a bit. I actually just got a couple bundles in recently and have already been through about 15.(I just looked and they are all PS00014000053)

I must have missed something, Is their something wrong with these boxes(barcodes) meaning I can expect everyone to come back with a cost adjustment ?

Thanks in advance for any information and the heads up.

Shawn

Manshawnsshop

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@manshawnsshop wrote: ... I tried forever to figure out the $18 adjustment, went to USPS.com, rate calculator, everything, I gave up trying to figure it out. ...

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23 x 9 x 9 yields a volume that is greater than a cubic foot, so if your package was being sent via Priority Mail to Zones 5 - 9 there would be a  "dimensional weight" which could increase the postage cost that much. What were the ZIP Codes?   Can you tell us the exact amount of postage that you originally paid and the exact amount of the $18 charge?

[berserkerplanet]

The OP in this thread got hit by USPS APV for Using a Small Flat Rate Box (SFRB) label on what they claimed was a PM 1096L zoned Priority Box. But OP was using a SFRB.

Turns out there were some SFRBs that had the 1096L barcodes printed on them by mistake. The APV system is scanning the label, going "ok you paid for a SFRB", scanning the (incorrectly printed) box barcode and saying "wait a minute. This is a 1096L box - must pay zoned Priority cost". See post #20

With the rash of reports in the forums about SFRBs getting dinged with USPS claiming they are 1096Ls or MFRB's, and a bunch of reports of Reg A's getting re-billed as Reg B's, I, and assume some others, are wondering if there are other misprinted box codes causing this. (Reg A's with Reg B codes on them, etc)

PS00014000053 is the correct code for a Reg A, so there must be something else going on like a software glitch in the APV system, or something else we haven't thought about yet.

Rats! (wrong bar codes would make for a tidy explanation of these clustered upcharges, but a software glitch even more so. Maybe the one documented incorrect bar code by OP is a fluke, and it is a USPS software issue for the other victims like yourself.)

More posts, more barcode numbers posted, more data, may help puzzle this out.

[etrusca]

So in reading the new posters information could one deduce that the new dimensional weight is  overriding the Regional Rate and some of the flat rate boxes and creating havoc? and or the dimensional weight software is misreading or mismatching and screwing everything up - this is the simplest explanation that I can think of besides incorrectly printed boxes - it would make sense since it aligns with the timing of the new price hike and dimensional weight change- important to look at what zone these were all sent to ie East > West coast and see if it fits.

[etrusca]

If it were me I would call USPS and ask to speak to a supervisor in the special department responsible for implementation/design of the new policies - in the past when I have had a serious problem to report about posted pricing errors I looked up depts and called the marketing dept in Washington and got results - they sent internal memos-  they dont want to get bad press !

[rixstuff]

I know we get discounted shipping on Ebay and Paypal but I have an idiot postal clerk who loses her mind when SHE THINKS the postage is incorrect.  I stopped putting the postage price on the label and make it a point to go to a different window when I ship.  I also seem to consistently have problems with OHIO.  The same package that costs the same rate to anywhere else in the country (using the farthest destination as the estimate for the postage) is somehow not enough in Ohio and my packages will COME BACK TO ME postage due.  Only from Ohio.  No reason.

[penguins_dont_fly]

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@robot-hands wrote:

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@penguins_dont_fly wrote:

or bulges so that the flaps aren't folded correctly, they no longer qualify for "Flat Rate" postage.

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If it fits, it ships.

Someone gave you bad intel on that.

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If it doesn't fit, it doesn't ship.

https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2016/pb22435/html/updt_002.htm

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@etrusca wrote: ...  could one deduce that the new dimensional weight is  overriding the Regional Rate and some of the flat rate boxes and creating havoc? and or the dimensional weight software is misreading or mismatching and screwing everything up - this is the simplest explanation that I can think of besides incorrectly printed boxes - it would make sense since it aligns with the timing of the new price hike and dimensional weight change- important to look at what zone these were all sent to ie East > West coast and see if it fits.

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There's no new dimensional weight.

The dimensional weight has been applied to Priority Mail packages going to Zone 5 - 9 for several years, and the plan to apply it to all zones and to Retail Ground and Parcel Select Ground has been delayed until June.

All of the Regional-rate boxes are under 1 cubic foot, so they wouldn't be affected by dimensional-rate policies.