Staying on Top of the PAF
Has it been a year already? About 12 months ago the industry began gearing up for the November 2008 implementation of new, more rigid Move Update regulations. Here at BCC, our customers were buzzing with questions about pricing, how to work Move Update (primarily NCOALink) processing into their existing job routines, what to do with the codes that came with returned jobs, and many other decisions.
One of the biggest logjams last fall resulted from the Processing Acknowledgement Form (PAF), a required document that must be completed and filed before any mailer can begin using BCC Data Services or any USPS Move Update process. Because so many mailers jumped aboard the Move Update bandwagon at the same time, the inaugural PAF paperwork during that period was daunting for providers (and, based on the phone calls and e-mails we received at the time, for customers, as well).
If you’re not yet working with BCC in your Move Update processes, please be sure to check the status of your PAFs: They must be renewed every year, and your provider will be unable (if they’re following the rules, that is!) to update your lists without a valid form on file. We’re doing our best to keep BCC customers in the loop on this and all Move Update issues, including making sure they’re aware of the USPS PAF Guide (PDF) that can go a long way toward helping to demystify the PAF.
We’ve also done what we can to make following PAF procedures relatively “pain-free,” thanks to our proprietary ePAF feature that allows the form to be completed and submitted electronically from within our Mail Manager software products.
Regardless of who you use for address-correction services, I encourage you to watch the calendar and stay on top of the Move Update rules and regulations. And if you’re a BCC Data Services user (or interested in becoming one), please feel free to call us at (800) 337-0372 with any questions about this important but occasionally complex process. Just let us know: How Can We Help?
