July 29, 1999 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Postal Service’s Board of Governors has approved a measure to allow charities to claim a refund if they have been charged extra postage to send non-profit periodicals. The refunds can apply to mailings that were sent after January 10.
After new postage rates took effect on that date, some charities noticed they were paying more to mail magazines and newsletters at the non-profit rate than they would under commercial rates (The Chronicle, April 8).
After several groups complained, the Postal Rate Commission approved guidelines allowing non-profit groups to choose either the non-profit or commercial rate for periodicals, whichever one is cheaper. But the commission left it up to the Board of Governors to determine whether charities could get a refund for postage charges all the way back to January, when the rate discrepancy first began to affect non-profit mailers.
While the service must still issue the exact procedure charities need to follow in seeking a refund, officials said that charities will probably be required to fill out two different postage statements for each periodical mailing in question.
One postage statement will be used to show what the charity would owe under non-profit periodical rates and the other showing what it would owe under commercial rates.
If the Postal Service agrees that the charity paid the more expensive rate when it was entitled to use the cheaper one, the charity will be entitled to a refund for the difference between the two.
