Long Gone
nospamforadam.net> wrote:>"Adam H. Kerman"
chinet.com> wrote:>>I've never had my boxes closed for renewing late. If your office does
>>that, that's a little harsh. They've plugged the lock to remind me to
>>pay but still place mail in the box.
>What is harsh about following procedures?
It's a basic concept of marketing. It costs a fortune to attract a new
customer, significantly less to keep a customer. So not closing the box
for a few more days is reasonable accomodation.
>It is similar but different from how your utility company handles deliqent
>accounts. Don't they disconnect at a specific time for non-payment?
Yeah, they do, but one would have to miss two or three payments in a row
in addition to ignoring required "final notice prior to disconnection"
letters.
>You call that harsh but it seems quite businesslike to me.
But the post office isn't a monopoly for these kinds of services any more.
>>You're saying this isn't by design? Somebody at Elephant Center's bonus
>>relies on these lock change fees being collected.
>No, you are saying that. Why would you try to minimize a valid business
>practice?
I believe I just said that collection of the lock change fee is now seen
as a profit center and that someone at Elephant Plaza should thank me
for providing him with a very happy Christmas.
>>I am relaying a conversation. Why do you doubt me? She told me that they
>>used to keep the locks, but now they are disposing of them. This is the
>>original lock. I vaguely recall using the combination lock 25 years ago,
>>perhaps for just the first year or two. She said they order new locks
>>from Topeka.
>I don't doubt yout. It makes no sense to dispose of the lock. I know we
>dispose of locks for the NBUs because the locks are so cheap and trying to
>continually match keys to locks would cost more than the locks. OTOH, post
>office box locks are more expensive and we reorder keys for them on a
>regular basis. There might be some confusion in the conversation and who
>you were talking to about it.
I was talking to the box clerk. I assume, by virtue of being the box
clerk, that she's handling lock disposal per current instructions and
that someone must have figured out the cost to keep locks in inventory,
including matching returned keys, is higher than ordering them new.
Also, it may simply be assumed that a lock as old as mine is no longer
viable.
>Locks for the NBUs come from Topeka. The last I knew the locks for the
>post office boxes come from another source.
She said Kansas. I assume it's from the Materiel Distribution Center,
which I thought was in Topeka. No?
You could ask your office's box clerk what he or she does with locks,
whether an effort is made to determine if old locks are still viable and
to reuinte returned keys.
>>For some reason, this office insists on a letter on company letterhead
>>for lock boxes opened by firms. It's not a standard I'm familiar with.
>Me either. The only time we get into that sort of situation is when
>organizations change officers. Then, to update, we require copies of the
>minutes of a meeting on letterhead. That is rare since most organizations
>seem to pay on time, change officers annually and then need to update comes
>five or six sets of oficers after the box was opened.
Heh. The two of us authorized to accept mail are officers; it's a very
small nonprofit organization. I did note on the letter that each of us
was a corporate officer.
The application itself doesn't require that the applicant be a corporate
officer, just a representative. I'm puzzled as to why your post office
cares who the corporate officers are as long as business keeps you
apprised of who is currently authorized to accept mail.
I suspect that the chairman of the board of GE doesn't accept mail.
>>At the time of application, applicants must present two items
>>of valid identification; one item must contain a photograph of
>>the applicant. Social Security cards or credit cards and birth
>>certificates are unacceptable as identification. The following
>>are acceptable identification:
>>1. Valid driver's license or state non-driver's identification
>>card.
>>2. Armed forces, government, university, or recognized corporate
>>identification card.
>>3. Passport, alien registration card, or certificate of
>>naturalization.
>>4. Current lease, mortgage, or deed of trust.
>>5. Voter or vehicle registration card.
>>6. Home or vehicle insurance policy.
>>She claimed she couldn't accept both the state ID and driver's license
>>as the numbers on the two IDs were very similar (it's true that a few
>>of the digits are rearranged).
>That is ignorant. They are both valid. Even if the numbers were identical,
>they are two separate and distinct forms of ID. With different numbers,
>regardless of similarity, they should be accepted.
If it's a photo ID and the picture matches my face (which I normally
have on me), why wouldn't one form of ID be acceptable?
>>DMM
508.4.8.2 discusses a nonrefundable key fee seperate from the
>>refundable deposit, referring to 4.3b. This section doesn't exist. The
>>fee chart at 4.1 states
>You can read the information by hovering over the link. The link takes you
>to
4.3.1b.
Yes, it does, a provision that does not mention the mysterious key fee.
Nothing in 508.4 has a specific definition of the key fee. Must be one
of those editing thingies to make the DMM shorter and easier to understand.
>>This part of the story I'm not certain of. He says he mailed in the
>>check the day he retrieved the payment envelope from the box; I don't
>>think it was too many days into April. His check wasn't posted till the
>>16th. The receipt says we paid for a 12 month period 3/31/2008 -
>>3/30/2009, sheesh.
>I don't know how other offices process those things. If we reopen the same
>box, we show the services dates as uninterrupted. You want a different box
>then you get actual dates.
I am not claiming that the due date should be extended. I'm questioning
the period the renewal fee paid for as stated on the receipt. Look again
at the date range.
>>They did process the renewal fee, which is why they were letting the
>>mail accumulate. The mail was being held hostage till we paid the lock
>>change fee.
>Through the 11th that would be correct. After the 11th, there was no reason
>to hold the mail and every reason to be returning it.
C'mon. I'm a loveable customer. They don't wish to lose me.
