What I see it saying is: ECM, you cannot refuse mail on behalf of a customer unless their account has been cancelled for six months. You can however, retain the mail or pay for it to be forwarded to the addressee’s new address.

Here’s an interesting article about the near catastrophe and redemption of ECM. I didn’t even know this happened! http://blog.oregonlive.com/siliconforest/2011/01/earth_class_mail_attempts_rebo.html

Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA) – Refusing mail

“If the intended addressee is the CMRA itself, it may refuse the mail in compliance with DMM regulations regarding “refusal of mail.” However, a CMRA is unable to refuse mail for it’s customers because the customer is the addressee, not the CMRA agent.
It is a long-standing Postal policy that only addressees can refuse mail, and the CMRA agent is not the addressee. Form 1583 on file at the CMRA and the Post Office, obligates the CMRA to accept its customer’s mail and retain it for collection or re-mail it to the addressee, prepaid with new postage for at least 6 months after the termination date of the agency relationship between the CMRA and addressee. The CMRA and their customers agree that all mail delivered to the agency will require new postage when re-deposited in the mail.
This re-mailing obligation need not be fulfilled if the CMRA customer provides written instructions to the CMRA that the mail (or specific types of mail) not be re-mailed upon termination of the relationship. This instruction may be provided in an internal service agreement between the customer and CMRA or by a separate document. Written instructions from the customer regarding the handling of this mail must not stipulate that the CMRA refuse mail or return it to sender, or keep the mail during the 6-month re-mail period and return it to the Post Office, or redeposit mail in the mail stream without new postage.
The CMRA may refuse First-Class Mail only, for former customers, six months after the relationship terminates. When this happens, the CMRA endorses the mail and gives it to the mailperson or returns it to the Post Office without payment of new postage”

Back to me now . . . I understand this to say that the Agency and the Customer can agree to have the mail forwarded to them, at the customer’s expense for 6 months after cancellation.  What do you think?  I am a ECM customer for about 3 years now.  Didn’t like the price changes, like the scan service okay, love the ability to have a constant address as we travel.

There a new company out there that is very affordable: http://www.TravelingMailbox.com

I echo your sentiments though, I’m still a customer of Earth Class Mail but in a jimmy rigged fashion. I don’t take advantage of all the features (scanning, shredding, check deposit) because it’s just too expensive for my business.

I’ll use your comprehensive comment as a chance to share my dream list for ECM. Feel free to add your own thoughts.

1. Priced between $19.95 and $29.95
2. Shredding is included in all plans.
3. Get your tech setup so you can offer free or dramatically cheaper scanning.
4. Get your check scanning and deposit down $10 per month or $1.50 per scan and deposit.

That’s just off the top of my head. I realize that I have no access to their financials, pro-formas, or market models but I believe they’d experience greater adoption among the largest demographic of small businesses if they could approach these targets.

In my opinion once you crest the $29 per month ceiling for a service like this and/or you start nickel-and-diming for additional services (shredding, scanning, etc., etc.) you run off the larger percentage of cost-conscious business owners.

Anyone else have a wish list?

P.S. If Earth Class Mail wants me to come down and “consult” with them I’d be happy to…I’ll take our message to the man! (Not that I have anything to tell them other than what a small business owner like myself wants in a service like this;) And I’m in Seattle!

Subject: Frustrations with Earth Class Mail
Date: November 23, 2010 10:15:06 PM PST
To: support@earthclassmail.com
Dear Earth Class Mail,

I’m so dis-satisfied with Earth Class Mail. Every time I try to do something with Earth Class Mail I’m reminded about how much I dislike the way Earth Class Mail is run.

The idea is fantastic. The execution is terrible.

Here’s some feedback…

1. I subscribed with Earth Class Mail to get additional access to my mail through a variety of means. But Earth Class Mail is open less days than the post office. Strike one.

2. I paid extra for a street address so I could pick up mail in person when I’m in L.A. But the hours are less frequent than a post office box. And UPS or other mail services give out keys so you can get mail after traffic has subsided. Strike two.

3. Then when I do want to pick up mail I have to schedule my pickup online a day in advance. Even after scheduling a pick up it still takes about 15 minutes for the Earth Class Mail representative to gather my mail and hand it to me. No time savings there.

4. I lost trust in Earth Class Mail when you abruptly and substantially raised your prices. I got higher prices and less access to mail than I expected when I signed up. When I signed up I was assured prices would not go up. I asked about this a lot because I was entrusting you with as my mail service for the long-term. Again, the increased cost was not appreciated, but the trust issue really made me look at you differently. Once you had me on your hook (as I had notified everyone of my address with Earth Class Mail) you then gouged me on pricing. Poor tact.

5. The billing address for my credit card recently changed. Instead of a call or an email from you asking me to update my billing address you instead IMMEDIATELY suspend my Earth Class Mail account and access. I cannot even schedule to come in and pick up the mail I have with you. Your billing policy obviously means you don’t trust me but you want me to trust you with handling, scanning and forwarding my mail.

I have gone into the Earth Class Mail website and figured out how to update my billing information. Even after doing that my account is still suspended. You can immediately suspend account but you can’t immediately restore an account.

So… I am writing you with specific instructions. Please schedule all physical mail in my account #—– for pickup tomorrow, Wednesday, November 24. Please do this without requiring me to log into my account again. Please call the West Hollywood office and ask them to pull all mail for me and have it ready for me when I come in so I don’t have to wait 15 minutes while my mail is found. If for some reason you cannot authorize me to pickup the mail without me logging in and requesting a pickup then please do this in the alternative:
1. Call West Hollywood and ask them to get all my mail ready for a pickup.
2. Restore my account to active.
3. I will go into my account while in the West Hollywood store and officially request the pick-up. Then the staff there can hand me the mail that they have already pulled.

Please let this email serve as my official 30 day notice to cancel my Earth Class Mail account. Earth Class Mail is such a great idea. I wish the company behind the idea could work out the glitches and create better business practices.

I’m sending out change of address notifications to the people and companies I know. My forwarding address (working now) is PO Box ——, Los Angeles, CA ——. I’ve noticed that your official policy is to dispose of any mail you receive for me after my account is terminated. I encourage you, as one gesture of good will, to forward any mail (there shouldn’t be any but something is likely to get overlooked) that comes to you after my account is terminated to the PO Box I just provided. My is you won’t even be willing to do that.

With all the criticism I’ve written here (and it is all very much warranted) I do want to say that the staff at Earth Class Mail has always been very courteous.

Sincerely,
Ryan

Thanks for that.

I just left a message, but it's sounding like this company is a one man operation. They are even using their own servers.

I know my hard & fast rule is NEVER to go with a company that doesn't have a phone number, but I was desperate to move from ECM & they seemed ok at the time, so I ignored my own rule. I become very suspicious of companies that force you to ONLY communicate via e-mail. Look how easy it is for them to just disappear.

No, I haven't canceled my account. They stopped responding to my tickets after asking them for 2 prices when sending me my box & my 2 envelopes.

Their backend isn't as good as ECM's, so there's no pricing there. It's also hard to even view tickets. Their system for that isn't logical, you literally have to type in your e-mail address & have the system send you the URL to the tickets LOL

In their system they just ask you to pick the method of shipment & since I'm not about to guess the price, I asked them to send me the 2 prices & I'd pick one. They directed me to USPS's site, but I had a hard time getting pricing from that site. All I found were flat rate box prices.

After that, that's when I stopped getting a response.

Then I got the next 2 pieces of mail, I had them scan it which was done, then I put in the request to have it forwarded & asked for prices. (no response)

I got a response about why they don't have your cc info in their acct (the last 4 digits) & I said thank you, just waiting on the responses to my other tickets & no response back to that ticket either.

Started a brand NEW ticket today clearly getting upset. Again, no response.

And another thing you have to be aware of…

They make you get that form notarized whereas ECM didn't. They said they didn't understand why ECM wouldn't make you since USPS says notarization is a must. So I had to pay an extra $20.

Here in Canada it's not $5 to notarize something. I had to spend a lot of time & energy driving around my area to try & find someone cheap, as the lawyers all want $35-50 just to notarize one sheet of paper.

Michelle

Michelle

Michelle