Posted: 6/8/2004 4:24:12 AM EDT
OK, so I'm opening ANOTHER one of those infernal credit card offers that plug up my mailbox - like I need more credit cards.  Anywho, I see the postage paid envelope in there to return the application to them, and I thinx to meself.... "What if I cut out that postage paid thingie where the stamp goes, and use it for me next letter I send out ?" Or I could use the whole envelope, and just put a label sticker over there address, and send the letter to anyone I wanted?? Would that be bad??? |
Consider it the sprice they pay for snail mail spam. |
| That little area on business reply envelopes is called an indicia. It's tied to an account and certain addresses. Misuse of it would be easy to spot (they likely check the permit # with the address. The result would be some type of 'defrauding the mail' or 'postage evasion' charge. The Postal Inspectors unit has about the same sense of humor as the ATF. |
VERY interesting. What if I just put the blank application in there and mailed it back to them as a way of saying "thank you" for wasting my time???  |
That's not illegal via the Post office, as they are simply delivering the mail as contracted by the permit. For all they know, it's business as usual in the envelope. By the way, opening machines are not going to even sweat the glue. In the ones I've seen, the mail is tapped down, to get the contents low in the envelope, and then placed into the hopper. The machine then takes them 1 by 1 and forces them through a slot which razors off the top of the envelope. Why the sabotage? Don't you have better things to do? Just throw it out if you don't want it. I'll never understand the mental state that makes people get wigged out about mail they receive. It's mostly old people with nothing else to do but get on a crusade. My parents are like that. My Dad is 70, and fills his mind with conspiracy theories on how evil corporations have information on him, when the most likely suspect is that Saltwater Sportsman magazine sold his name to MBNA to get a card with a fishing scene on it. People like him would have a heart attack if he knew how often people probed the Credit Bureaus about his credit worthyness. True, that information isn't released with the exception of scores and flags, but for him, it's the thought that counts. |
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as an ex-usps employee...yes, that is fraudulant use of pre-paid postage. The Postal Inspectors unit has about the same sense of humor as the ATF. you got that right. they also are armed with submachineguns. iirc, the fine is up to $300 and 6 months in jail. i never heard of a cae in which it was enforced against an individual but i do recall corporations being fined. |
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I too send back the contents of jink mail...minus any tracking number, bar code, home address, or any personal info. Stuff it all in...maybe some table scraps as well. Drop it in the mail and smile. I knew a guy that would wipe his boogers on the application and then send it in. |
Well over 50...that's a lot of junk mail in a lifetime! IMO, works both ways and only takes a minute. Thanks for the clue...staples at the top. And nothing gross or questionable inside. |
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what I do is mail them back pages from porn catalogs. I bought something once from adam and eve and now I get porn catalogs all the time from multiple companies. they keep saying it'll be the last one if I don't order but it never is. so CC people get some porn to make their day bright |
www.usps.com/websites/depart/inspect/merch.htm
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I take out all the things with my name,address and barcodes. I then cut up that days newspaper into strips the size of the envelope. I pack those credit card return envelopes an inch thick with newspaper. It makes me smile knowing the companies have to pay an employee to open all those worthless envelopes. With the amount of mail I get, it takes a lot of time out of my life having to open all that junk mail, so I can shred my name and address. I didn't ask for all that fucking spam! 
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ar15
I simply shred the application and mail it back to them in their envelope. I get at least two of these pre-approved deals a day. Go ahead and spend their money. |
Im a ex-usps also ...... Yup ... when you need 'em for something real and serious, no where to be found. Re-use a stamp? they will pull a branch dividian on you! |