OIG: USPS Can Do Better on Omitted Trips

A federal watchdog has found notable issues with the Postal Service’s handling of omitted trips over the past two fiscal years. 

The March 21 report studied each of the 679,407 omitted trips reported by the Postal Service from fiscal 2020 to 2022. The number of trips marked as omitted increased each of those years, going from 132,158 in fiscal 2020 to 302,096 in fiscal 2022, a 129 percent overall increase. 

However, OIG noted that more than 26,000 of these trips were incorrectly reported. According to the report, 20,000 trips were actually cancelled by USPS, but still logged as omitted. Another 6,591 were incorrectly marked as being the supplier’s fault, even though they should have been cancelled for scheduling or other issues outside the supplier’s control. 

The report noted that a USPS system discrepancy enables postal employees to send out PS Form 5500s for cancelled trips. 

“This occurred because [Postal Service] employees were unclear of the difference between an omitted trip and a canceled trip, even though Postal Service policy clearly defines the differences,” the report reads. 

Underreported Deductions 

The Postal Service was also found to have underreported deductions taken from suppliers and “could not accurately identify the deducted or reimbursed amounts for omitted trips.” 

Similarly, when USPS processed reimbursements for incorrect deductions, those refunds were made “without going through a review and approval process in [fiscal] 2022.” 

The last finding in the report was that USPS isn’t consistently processing omitted service trips in its system. Specifically, the report notes that in fiscal 2022, “the Postal Service did not categorize omitted trips as either chargeable or excusable for about 81.6 percent” of the trips. 

In fiscal 2022, USPS deducted around $46.5 million from suppliers, according to the report, when it could have deducted around $99.1 million for omitted trips, a $52.5 million difference. 

That $46.5 million is a staggering increase from fiscal 2021, when the total amount deducted was only $10.7 million. 

In response, USPS said it is “piloting a program that automates the process for omitted service.” This is planned to be implemented by fiscal 2024, according to the report.