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A friend once complained about how much unsolicited mail he received, and claimed that he'd got his revenge on the Readers Digest, which had resisted his attempts to stop them sending him stuff. He said he'd taped their reply-paid envelope to a breeze-block, taken it to the Post Office, and posted it back to them.

This would have been in the 1990s. We're talking about one of these:

concrete block

I think he wrote a nice note with it, along the lines of "I requested that you stop sending me unsolicited mail. Please accept this concrete block as a token of appreciation. Love, Joe Bloggs" etc. The implication is that the recipient would have to pay a huge fee.

I was recounting this tale, and as I spoke, my BS detector alarm went off. The Post Office wouldn't have accepted this, right?

(I'm hoping for a UK-specific answer, but happy to hear answers relating to other countries. The subject came up because social media posts are noting that US presidential candidates are sending donation requests with prepaid reply envelopes.)

SusanW
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1 Answers1

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This US Postal Service feature is called Business Reply Mail (BRM), where the recipient agrees to pay for postage with a special envelope or label.

The brick would be discarded. However, if it was an envelope and it was returned empty or filled with irrelevant papers, it would still be processed and postage is due.

The policy is set in Domestic Mail Manual 505.1.3.8

1.3.8 Improper Use of Labels and Misuse of BRM Cards and Envelopes

Improper use of BRM labels and misuse of BRM cards or envelopes should be handled as follows:

a. When a BRM label is improperly used, or a BRM card or envelope is misused as a label to return an unsealed item, such as a brick, two-by-four, or similar item, the Postal Service may treat the item as waste to be disposed of at the discretion of the Post Office.

b. When a BRM card or envelope is misused and affixed to a sealed item, the permit holder will be responsible for payment of the applicable Retail postage and per piece fee.

Note the term sealed: BRM envelopes are first-class mail and legally sealed against inspection by the USPS. Any misuse would have to be in a way that is unsealed for the USPS to be able to observe the contents. (The USPS doesn't want to be in the business of detecting junk forms in envelopes anyway)

user71659
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