Permit Numbers

[PricelineNegotiator]

Hey,

I'm not sure if this is the right subforum (I thought mailing would have its own subforum), but anyways I'm curious if there is any way you can figure out who is processing certain mail by looking up permit X in your area. As an example, if I lived it Houston and I received a mailpiece with the indicia reading

Houston, TX
Permit # 123

How do I find out who permit # 123 is? Which organization owns the permit?

 

[MailGuru]

There might be a way through the Business Customer Gateway, but, it's been my experience through the years that, that information is confidential and very hard to come by. Here's why:

To what purpose do you want to know who owns that permit? Are you wanting to go after the business of that permit holder? Let's suppose you are mailing a flyer for XYZ Furniture with your permit number on the piece. I would like to pitch XYZ Furniture, but, I'd like to know who's mailing for them now, so I can under cut your price. Would you want the USPS to give out that information?

Now, that having been said, you may be able to simply call the BMEU that services that zip code in Houston, TX under the guise of an upcoming job (mailing on that permit) and you just want to make sure that all fees are current and that there is enough postage in the account to cover the mailing. Usually, during that conversation, the BMEU employee will inadvertently divulge the permit holder's name:

Example:

You: "Yes this is Bill over at ABC Marketing. We've got a small mailing coming up on permit # 123. I'm just calling to make sure it is active, current and has enough funds to cover the mailing"
BMEU: "Ok, no problem. How much is the postage on the mailing?"
You: "It's small, only a couple of hundred dollars"
BMEU "Ok, let's see, permit # 123, right? Yes, that's Fernville Historical Society". Yes, their fees are up to date, and, they have sufficient funds"
You: "Thanks a lot"

It doesn't work all the time. But, sometimes it does.