Old habits die hard, and when mailing Certified Mail there is something undeniably comforting about manually filling out the two green Certified Mail documents – one that proves you mailed the envelope (PS Form 3800) and one that is returned to you with the recipient’s signature (PS Form 3811 – the green card). Having those hard copy receipts in your hand vs. electronically, just feels more substantial and legal.
As the world embraces electronic technology, those comfortable processes become less efficient and sometimes, more expensive. Our goal is to ease our clients into this technology while ensuring proper legal compliance. We know that timely information and reporting is key to that transition.
When Certified Mail is physically received by our local post office, each item is scanned by a USPS clerk. This triggers a Certified Mail Acceptance Receipt to confirm that your mail was SENT. This parallels PS Form 3800 – that reassuring receipt that we walk out of the post office with.
EDEXOne’s Certified Mail Acceptance Receipt (below) is available in your mailing’s Document List. Click on Manage Mailing, select Documents then click the document link that says Certified Mail Acceptance Certificate.
For those sending Certified Mail to prove DELIVERY, the manual process would be to fill out this form:
EDEXOne mailing provides the same service via the USPS electronic Return Receipt process. The recipient’s signature and time and date of delivery are captured by the mail carrier and returned electronically as a PDF document stored in your document list. EDEXOne captures that PDF and archives it permanently with your mailings. You can also access that receipt for a limited time at the USPS.com site.
This is what the USPS Electronic Receipt looks like:
This receipt automatically generates within your document list for each mailing. You can also access a Certificate of Mailing from your Manage Mailing tab. If you select Certificate of Mailing you can choose to have this signed document emailed to you. There is a cover page so you will need to scroll down to see it.
Monitoring mail statistics and evaluating the USPS response and service times is a large part of what we do as part of our mailing services. Recent conversations with post office employees, and our own delivery statistics, have allowed us to determine that USPS Certified Mail is no longer as reliable as many senders believe it to be. Why is this? USPS management has required that Certified Mail mingle with regular First-Class mail to save money. As a result, previously accountable mailings are stuck in the middle of the First-Class mail stacks and often miss delivery scans. We have noticed that around 10% of Certified Mail does not receive delivery scans and up to 5% of Certified Mail Return Receipt does not receive delivery scans and/or signatures.
To offset this reduction in USPS accuracy and service, we have created a detailed alert system. If your mail is NOT travelling at what our algorithms consider a normal speed, you will receive an email alert. This alert provides you with an early warning system to monitor this mailing and decide if you need to remail that item.
At that point you might consider sending that document via Priority Mail with Return Receipt for a more reliable delivery experience.
If your trackable mail piece has still not been delivered after 30 days, we automatically request a postage refund for you and send that to you via check.
If you have any questions about Certified Mail, or any of our other mail services, please don’t hesitate to give us a call.
Thank you,
EDEX Information Systems, Inc.
209-223-3461
866-GET-EDEX