Yep! It's Mail Fraud All Right!
Posted on Monday, July 14 2008 @ 13:06:10 CDT by kim |
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One of the common complaints I get as a HNA volunteer is about all the commercial "mail" pieces attached to or stuffed into HillsDale mailboxes. Well, here's what you need to know about the relevant regulations ...
Postal regulations state under Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), section 508.3.1.3, "no part of a mail receptacle may be used to deliver any matter not bearing postage, including items or matter placed upon, supported by, attached to, hung from, or inserted into a mail receptacle. Any mailable matter not bearing postage and found as described above is subject to the same postage as would be paid if it were carried by mail."
Section 604.8.3.1 of the DMM states "Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits any mailable matter (such as statements of account, circulars, sale bills, or other like matter) on which no postage is paid, in any letterbox established, approved, or accepted by the Postmaster General for the receipt or delivery of mail matter on any route, with intent to avoid payment of lawful postage thereon, shall for each such offense be fined not more than $300 (18 USC 1725)."
So, in short, your are seeing a violation of federal law when you see a menu or a "mail" piece stuck to or in your mail box that does not bear US postage. You can report violations yourself using the Postal Service form 6185, or you can report it to HNA volunteers. Either way, the merchant will hear from the notorious Postal Inspectors of the USPS (Newman!).
If you take the time to report such an offense, please be sure to provide a sample of the piece left behind. With an organized effort by HNA, we can really stamp down this kind of activity because each delivered piece could cost the merchant up to $300 ... a pretty strong deterent, I'd say.
If you want to help HillsDale stay litter-free, contact HNA with any offenses like this and a volunteer will give the merchant the courtesy of a warning and advice on how to avoid penalties. Oh! And for those clever merchants who avoid this violation by throwing items in your yard or driveway instead of attaching them to your mailbox, that is covered under DeKalb County ordinances and shouldn't be tolerated either!
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