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Parcel predicament: Weir's working to fix issue with U.S. Postal Service

The Sault, Mich. package and freight company, popular with online shoppers from the Canadian side of the river, has seen its USPS deliveries suspended over a paperwork issue
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Canadian and U.S. flags. (U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

It may come as a surprise to some Sault Ontario residents who pick up parcels of merchandise ordered from outside Canada at Sault Michigan’s Weir Package & Freight, but the U.S. Postal Service requires customers (both American and Canadian) to provide two pieces of identification and fill out a form before Weir can hand them over.  

“We’ve actually been kind of talking back and forth with them (the USPS) for quite some time. We feel it is quite an over reach, just to have somebody come in and pick up a parcel to fill out a form and provide two pieces of ID,” said  Dan Campbell, Weir Package & Freight manager, speaking to SooToday on Monday.

“Weirs believes this to be an overbearing policy to require this of our great customers... because of this, there have been many packages that the USPS has returned to the sender because the IDs are not on file at the Post Office. They have suspended all mail delivery until we can collect 1,000 IDs. We do not know when they will lift the suspension or when we will be able to collect the information they require,” stated David Weir in a message sent to customers through the Weir Package & Freight Facebook page

Weir Package & Freight, located at 605 Ridge St. in Sault, Mich., is also trying to inform as many of its regular parcel pickup customers as possible of the USPS rules by email.

“If you need to have a package shipped USPS, we will need the required information to send to the Post Office. We are very sorry for this inconvenience,” Weir wrote.

The rules apply to USPS parcels only.

UPS and FedEx are still delivering all packages as normal.

“We’ve been doing this for over 40 years, but if this is what the Post Office requires, we have to comply,” Campbell told us.

“We’ve given the Post Office quite a few hundred (IDs) already, so we’re working on that and hoping to hear something as soon as possible, hopefully this week, and get the deliveries out.”

Most customers are providing their Ontario Drivers License and Ontario Health Card numbers as ID on the form that needs to be filled in and submitted by Weir Package & Freight to the USPS.

The rules have surprised many Weir customers, Campbell said.

“It’s definitely unfortunate.”

Campbell said compensation from Weir Package & Freight for customers who have had their parcels returned to the USPS is something the business has “under consideration.”

 ID rules, said a United States Postal Service spokesperson from the Sault, Mich. USPS office at 161 Ridge St., are not new.

“Weir’s hasn’t been complying with our post office policies. It’s been an ongoing issue for two years. If you want to get your stuff sent here instead of Weir you can rent a post office box,” the USPS official said.

As upset as Weir staff and some customers may be, Jim Carter, My American Address owner, told us “USPS has been tightening up on the requirement of a signed form along with two pieces of ID for the last couple of years, but it's nothing new.”

My American Address, located at 3522 Interstate 75 Business Spur in Sault, Mich., also holds parcels for Canadian customers.

“We’ve been collecting that form for the last two years and the post office gave us the heads up. The form and IDs are just for the first visit, to allow us to receive parcels on our customers behalf. Then we just need one piece of ID for future pickups, which we did anyway to make sure we don't give parcels to the wrong people,” Carter said.

“We haven't had any push-back from customers over the last couple of years though. I think they appreciate knowing that we have procedures in place protecting their purchases,” Carter said.

“The post office is great to work with. Any time they add a new piece of paperwork, it’s overwhelming after you’ve been doing things for years and you don’t want to change. But at the end of the day, they make a new rule, you have no choice. We either deal with it or shut down.”


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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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