The Commission Decision expresses concern over poor or uneven service quality and confusing or misleading advertising in connection with a number of products and services, including Priority Mail, Express Mail, Certified Mail and Return Receipt Service. The following parts of the recommended decision specifically discuss these issues:

Priority Mail Paras. 5297-5301 (pp. 306-08); Para. 5304 (p. 309);

Para. 5317 (pp. 312-13)

Express Mail Paras. 5009-10 (pp. 219-220); Para. 5013 (pp. 220-21)

Certified Mail Paras. 6076-77 (p. 570); Paras. 6079-80 (pp. 570-71);
Paras. 6082-84 (p. 572)

Return Receipt Paras. 6104-05 (p. 578)

In addition, three Commissioners in a Concurring Statement attached to the Decision suggested that the Postal Service review the confusing array of services it offers for accountable mail services. These are services for which the consumer pays a premium for receiving information about delivery. These mail services include certified mail, return receipt, delivery confirmation, signature confirmation, and certificates of mailing. The Commissioners observed that if the Postal Service's electronically based delivery and signature confirmation services were extended to First-Class letters, the Postal Service might more easily be able to deal with the high-volume situations that at present are compromising the quality of these services. The Commissioners note that it should be possible to maximize electronically based services in a way that gives consumers better choices and quality of service at lower prices. According to Commission calculations, implementation of this change could save the Postal Service in excess of $300 million annually.

Postal Rate Commission http://www.prc.gov Voice: (202) 789-6800 Fax: (202) 789-6886 prc-admin@prc.gov