The Corner Penthouse

It is my duty as a consumer advocate to report on any business who tries to steal from their customers. This morning, ShippingEasy.com (also known as Stamps.com) tried to steal money from me. Read on to find out the details...

On July 13, 2021, I signed up for a 30-Day free trial at ShippingEasy.com. They are a service that allows you to buy discounted postage from USPS, UPS, and FedEx. You pay for the postage, as well as a monthly subscription fee. With the free trial, I would not have to pay the $5.00 subscription as long as I canceled before August 13th.


Although I regularly use PirateShip.com (rated highly in my comparison review), they only offer USPS postage. For the two large packages that I needed to mail out, USPS would have required me to mail them Priority at a cost of about $60-$65 each. FedEx.com was about $55, while UPS.com hovered around $50 each. Surely, I thought there could be a third-party service that would offer any of those carriers at a discounted rate. Google pointed me to ShippingEasy.com. FedEx required creating a FedEx account, USPS on ShippingEasy were the same rates as on Pirate Ship. However, ShippingEasy's UPS rates were about HALF of what UPS.com was quoting me. For the 9-pound package (21"x12"x9"), ShippingEasy quoted me a UPS price of $22.54. For the 18-pound package, ShippingEasy quoted me a UPS price of $26.86. Both packages were going to different towns in California. Obviously, it was a complete no-brainer to sign up for a ShippingEasy free trial and buy the postage with them. Both packages together would cost me about what UPS.com wanted for just one package.

I'm smart enough to not trust any subscription service that I don't plan on keeping. So, instead of giving them any bank debit card information, I gave them my PayPal debit card information and used that as a temporary pass-through to my bank. Once the two transactions were processed, I unlinked the card from my bank account, thus preventing any unauthorized future charges. I don't regularly keep any money in my PayPal balance, so there was no money that could be taken. The $22.54 and $26.86 prices that I was quoted on July 13th when I bought the postage was taken from my bank account on July 15th. You'll notice that the charges are listed as being from "USPS Stamps Endicia" (for the $22.54 charge) and "Stamps.com *USPostage" (for the $26.86 charge).


Both packages were delivered to their respective destinations in California on July 19th. That should have been the end of the matter.

I woke up this morning to find several e-mails from Stamps.com (the apparent parent company of ShippingEasy) and PayPal. The Stamps.com e-mails were claiming that they were unable to process a $10.00 payment because "the credit card charge was refused".

Date: Tue, Jul 27, 2021 at 7:41 AM
From: Stamps.com Account Support
To: Paul

Dear Paul,

The purchase transaction below was unsuccessful.

Transaction Details
Date: 07-27-2021 04:41 PDT
Description: The credit card charge was refused
Payment Method: MasterCard
Amount: $10.00

Please confirm the following:
- The credit card is activated and in good standing.
- Adequate credit is available on the account for this transaction.
- The account does not have an Internet or phone order block.
- Non-travel related transactions are allowed on the account.
- They do not request voice authorizations for any Stamps.com transactions.

Note: If you are using a debit or check card, please remember that these cards are not credit cards and may be subject to daily and/ or transaction limits.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Thank you,

The Stamps.com Customer Care Team

The e-mails from PayPal were just to let me know that a $10.00 charge was attempted to be made to my card, but it was declined. Of course it was, and that was the point of NOT having money in my PayPal account and NOT having the card linked permanently to my bank account. It is because of THIEVERY like this that I take those precautions.

My first thought was that ShippingEasy was trying to charge me for the subscription, even though I still had two weeks left in my free trial. So, I sent an e-mail to support@shippingeasy.com to ask them why they were trying to scam me out of my 30-day free trial. Very quickly, I received this reply from "Ruth H.", a "Customer Success Advisor":

Date: Tue, Jul 27, 2021 at 11:54 AM
From: ShippingEasy Support
To: Spook Central

Hi there Paul,

Thank you for reaching out to our support team!

Thank you for including a copy of that invoice! I reached out to our billing team to confirm that the attempted charge on 7/27/2021 was the result of a postage purchase and not related to the ShippingEasy trial period for your subscription.

During trial periods we do not bill for the use of ShippingEasy, but any postage purchased during that time still requires payment to be processed. I apologize for any confusion this attempted charge may have caused.

If you have any further questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to reply here and I will be happy to help!

Best regards,

Ruth H.
Customer Success Advisor

Okay, Ruth misunderstood me. I was already well aware that even though my 30-day subscription was free, I would still have to pay the postage prices that are quoted to me when I buy the postage. I already PAID IN FULL both of the UPS prices that were quoted to me on July 13th when I bought the postage. That money left my bank account on July 15th; almost TWO WEEKS AGO!

I replied back, "If that fraudulent $10 charge was a postage purchase, then you better look into this further because I HAVE NOT PURCHASED ANY POSTAGE SINCE JULY 13TH!!! Either my account, or your system, was HACKED!"

Very soon after that, I received this reply from Ruth:

Date: Tue, Jul 27, 2021 at 1:26 PM
From: ShippingEasy Support
To: Spook Central

Hi Paul,

I appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We take account security very seriously. I reached out to Stamps directly for more information and was able to obtain the following details regarding this attempted charge:

1. No attempts to purchase a label were initiated on your ShippingEasy account since 2 labels were purchased on 7/13.

2. The postage account was assessed an adjustment from UPS on 7/27 for the previous shipments. Please note I am unable to view details of this adjustment until end of business day today since the adjustment was made today.

3. Due to the adjustment by UPS, the system charged the account $10 to cover the negative balance.

4. This last charge of $10 is currently being declined by your credit card company.

For more details about UPS adjustments and what can cause them, please read more here:

UPS adjustments happen when things like package dimensions or shipment weights are entered incorrectly.

If the amount is underpaid, a debit will be made to cover the difference. If the amount is overpaid, a credit will be issued. These debits and credits will be shown as "Adjustments" in the Stamps.com account, our label server. Adjustments will post 1-2 weeks after delivery.

I apologize for any confusion this attempted charge has caused. I am happy to reach out to you tomorrow with further details regarding the adjustment initiated by UPS if you would like to know more.

Have a wonderful day!

Best,

Ruth H.
Customer Success Advisor

This was quite an eye-opener. Assuming that Ruth is telling me the truth, and that ShippingEasy/Stamps.com aren't trying to pass the blame onto UPS, then UPS decided TWO WEEKS LATER that they wanted MORE money than what they quoted me for both packages. That would be like buying something from Amazon, receiving the item a week later, and then a week after that, Amazon charges you again because they feel that they didn't charge you the correct price originally. I entered all of the details for BOTH packages correctly, checking and double-checking the measurements and weight. There is no doubt that I entered the correct details. Let's look over the facts:

• My business transaction with UPS and ShippingEasy/Stamps.com for the postage for these two packages was conducted on July 13th, and concluded on July 15th when the money was taken out of my bank account.
• My business, as a whole, with UPS and ShippingEasy/Stamps.com for these two packages was concluded on July 19th when both packages were delivered to their respective destinations in California.

UPS and ShippingEasy/Stamps.com have no business attempting to steal money from me for concluded business. I paid 100% of the UPS prices quoted to me when I purchased the postage on July 13th. If UPS feels that I did not pay them the proper amount, why didn't UPS say something while the packages were in their possession?!? Through the act of delivering the packages on July 19th, UPS has concluded their end of this business transaction, which can be seen as a legally-binding "admission" that they are satisfied with the amount they were paid for the packages. If UPS was not satisfied, they could have held the packages for ransom. Why did they wait A WEEK AFTER THE PACKAGES WERE DELIVERED to try to steal money from me?!? Furthermore, ShippingEasy/Stamps.com is an accomplice in the crime by permitting UPS to attempt to steal the money from me.

I was going to cancel my ShippingEasy account on August 11th, just two days before the free trial would convert to a paid subscription.


After this morning's attempted robbery, I have CANCELED MY SHIPPINGEASY ACCOUNT IMMEDIATELY ON JULY 27TH!


Now I know why Pirate Ship refuses to carry UPS postage.

[UPDATE - JULY 30, 2021]
Even though I closed my ShippingEasy account on July 27th, three days later, they are STILL trying to steal from me! Yes, they are ATTEMPTING TO STEAL MONEY FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE NO LONGER CLIENTS OF THEIRS. I received another e-mail on July 30th from Stamps.com telling me that they were unable to process a $10.00 payment because "the credit card charge was refused". Of course it was. After the attempted robbery on July 27th, I took the extra precaution of locking the card. This worked, because I also received not one, but TWO e-mails from PayPal showing that STAMPS.COM TRIED TWICE TO CHARGE $10 TO THE CARD UNDER THE GUISE OF TWO DIFFERENT MERCHANTS:


I have reported the transactions as "unauthorized" to PayPal, and they have canceled the card, which will guarantee that any further robbery attempts will fail. Furthermore, I have filed complaints against ShippingEasy, Stamps.com, and UPS with the Better Business Bureau.

[UPDATE - AUGUST 2, 2021]
In addition to filing complaints with the BBB against all three companies involved, I also sent an e-mail on July 31st to support@shippingeasy.com to tell Ruth H., or whomever reads it, to stop trying to attempt to steal money from me. I have yet to get a reply.

Even though I closed my ShippingEasy account a week ago, would you believe that they tried for a THIRD time, to steal this money from me. Yup. Again on Monday August 2nd, I received another e-mail from Stamps.com Account Support telling me that they were unable to process a $10.00 payment because "the credit card charge was refused". Of course it was. That card was canceled and no longer exists. They can try every day for the rest of my life and it will NEVER work. You'd think after the first two attempts failed, they would realize that and stop. I could continue to update this article with every thievery attempt, since I have no doubt that there will be more, but I no longer wish to receive these spam "Transaction Error" and "Unable To Process Payment" e-mails from "Stamps.com Account Support". I have added a mail filter that will send them directly to the trash.

I would like for these companies to stop trying to steal money from me. My business relationship with ShippingEasy, Stamps.com, and UPS is OVER. I am no longer a client of these companies. I want high-level representatives from these companies to contact me VIA E-MAIL ONLY (I do not accept phone calls) to assure me that they (1) will DROP THIS MATTER and no longer attempt to take this money from me, (2) they will not try to forward this matter to a collection agency, and (3) THEY WILL PURGE ALL OF MY PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM THEIR SYSTEMS.

I will continue to update this article with any further developments on this matter, should there be any.

[UPDATE - AUGUST 5, 2021]
So far, only UPS has responded to my complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau. I exchanged a few e-mails with Nate Magilow from UPS Corporate Customer Relations. I provided him with all of the details, including the tracking numbers for both packages, and even the original postage label PDFs. Nate sent me a follow-up e-mail today, in which he assured me that UPS will take the desired actions in this matter.

Dear Paul,

Thank you for your email. I have issued a credit for any additional charges billed on the tracking numbers provided. The credit will appear on stamps.com’s next UPS invoice. As UPS is not the party attempting to charge your credit card directly, you will need to follow up with either stamps.com or Ship Easy to ensure that no further attempts to charge your card are made.

In addition, I have submitted a request to remove all of your personal information from UPS’s system. You will receive a response from the UPS Privacy Group within 30 days regarding the status of this request. To ensure that your information is removed from stamps.com and Ship Easy’s systems, I recommend that you contact them directly.

Thank your for taking the time to bring this to our attention and allowing us to address your concerns.

Best Regards,

Nate Magilow UPS Corporate Customer Relations

It's nice to see that at least one of the three companies involved is taking this matter seriously. I sent another e-mail to ShippingEasy support to see if they will do anything to address this matter.

[UPDATE - AUGUST 12, 2021]
Although I stopped being a ShippingEasy client as of July 27 - two and a half weeks ago - they have now tried for a FOURTH time to steal this money from me. I know, it's ridiculous! I found yet another "Unable To Process Payment" e-mail from Stamps.com Account Support dated August 12, 2021 at 7:27 AM sitting in my trash folder. (I created a filter to send all of this garbage straight to the trash). When are they gonna wake up and realize that they can charge that now-canceled card every day for the next millennium and they will never have success. You'd think after the first THREE attempts failed, they would realize that and stop.

[UPDATE - AUGUST 16, 2021]
Two weeks after I filed my complaints with the Better Business Bureau, Stamps.com finally replied. This is what Ray Ortega, Customer Care Manager, had to say:

Dear Paul,

Thank you for your inquiry. We appreciate and consider your feedback and take our customers' concerns very seriously.

We apologize for the negative experience. Rest assured that your issue was escalated to the appropriate team within ShippingEasy for further review.

To clarify, adjustments come directly from the carrier and we are required to pass them onto the customers.

If it is determined by a carrier partner of Stamps.com that a mailing or shipping transaction did not contain sufficient funds (for example, not enough postage to cover a USPS shipment due to an underreporting of weight at time of print, or a change in mail class eligibility because of carrier rule changes), the adjustments would be made. Overdraft protection occurs to cover funds due to APV adjustments.

To clarify, the PC Postage provider passes along the charges from the carrier - it is not a direct charge from the PC Postage provider.

Customers who print labels are subject to cost adjustments. Adjustments can occur if the weight is inaccurately reported, or the dimensions of the package when creating a label. When delivering a package, the carrier will verify the weight and dimensions, and will adjust the cost of the label if there are discrepancies.

If we can help further, please let us know.

Best Regards,

Ray Ortega
Customer Care Manager
Stamps.com

Obviously, Ray misses the point. I know why ShippingEasy/Stamps.com thinks I owe them money. Not only are they wrong, because I properly weigh and measure everything I mail, but they simply can not make unauthorized charges to a users credit card FOR PACKAGES THAT WERE ALREADY DELIVERED WEEKS EARLIER! I've said it before, but I'll say it again: By delivering both packages on July 19th, UPS admits they were satisfied with the amount of money I paid them for the postage. Otherwise, they should have held the packages hostage and had some sort of leverage in this situation. Once the packages were delivered, that would be seen by all reasonable parties as the conclusion of this business transaction.

[UPDATE - AUGUST 17, 2021]
Before I could get a chance to reply to Stamps.com via BBB, I received this "We are crediting your account!" e-mail from Stamps.com Account Support. When I saw that, I thought that Stamps.com was finally going to apply the $10 credit that UPS said they (supposedly) added to my account so that this matter could be resolved once and for all. Instead, the message makes me more confused:

Dear Paul,

We want to thank you for your continued use and involvement with our service.

Because we value your business, so we've credited your Stamps.com account in the amount of $1.00. This amount was credited as of 08/17/2021 and is reflected in your available balance.

Putting aside the fake niceties - I never actually used Stamps.com itself, and do not wish to have an account with them - this message says that a credit in the amount of ONE DOLLAR was applied to my account. So, are they now going to try to keep billing $9.00 to my now-canceled card?

Anyway, I sent a reply to Ray via the BBB site that I hope will finally put an end to this matter.

[UPDATE - AUGUST 18, 2021]
This evening, I received a reply from ShippingEasy representative Ruth H. to the e-mails that I sent two weeks ago:

Hi there Paul,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us regarding this issue. I know the attempt to charge your card was unexpected and I appreciate your patience as I looked into this for you.

Stamps has confirmed that an attempt to charge your card was made in response to an adjustment from UPS on one of the two shipments you processed through ShippingEasy. The details of that adjustment and resulting charge attempts are below.

UPS assessed an adjustment on the shipment with tracking ending in 6017. The amount of that adjustment was $1. Post-shipment UPS adjustments are a standard shipping procedure used to correct any slight difference in quoted postage and actual cost of shipment. They can be either positive or negative.

In this case, the adjustment caused your ShippingEasy account balance to become negative $1. When a negative account balance is posted, our system automatically attempts to purchase postage on the account to correct that. The minimum postage purchase is $10, which is why you saw the attempted charge in the amount of $10.

In the response you included from UPS, their representative indicated a credit has been issued for any additional charges billed on the tracking numbers you provided. Therefore all attempts to charge your card for this outstanding balance have been stopped. I confirmed with Stamps that no further attempts will be made and as there is no longer a negative balance on your account, this matter will not be forwarded to a collection agency.

We have initiated the process for removal of your personal information from our systems, both ShippingEasy and Stamps.

Again, I appreciate your patience as I reviewed this case for you. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to reply here. I am happy to help!

Best regards,

Ruth H.
Customer Success Advisor

While I am THRILLED that this matter is finally over and that my information would be removed from their system, I can't believe the bullshit at work here. Let me state this in big bold letters: BECAUSE THEY FELT THAT I UNDERPAID $1.00 ON ONE OF THE PACKAGES, THEY DECIDED TO CHARGE MY CARD $10.00!!!! So, not only did they try FOUR TIMES to make unauthorized charges to my card (I only authorized the original two charges from July 13th when I bought the postage), but they admit that they were TRYING TO STEAL NINE DOLLARS FROM ME! If I owe you ONE DOLLAR, you ask me to pay you ONE DOLLAR. You don't try to take NINE DOLLARS to cover a ONE DOLLAR fee. (This does explain the e-mail I received last night from Stamps.com stating that a $1.00 credit was applied to my account.)

Furthermore, it is INSANE that all parties (UPS, Stamps.com, ShippingEasy) would cause this much trouble over ONE FUCKING DOLLAR! The sensible thing to do would be to let it go. I promise you that UPS would not go out of business if they didn't get this extra Dollar from me - which in the end, they didn't. Heck, it would probably cost them more than a Dollar in credit card merchant fees. There should be a point where they realize the amount is too small to be worth trying to collect.

After this three-week ordeal, which forced me to go through the hassle of canceling the card and ordering a new one, I would highly advise everyone to STAY CLEAR OF SHIPPINGEASY.COM AND STAMPS.COM. They have proven themselves to be completely untrustworthy. If you need USPS postage (UPDATE: and also UPS postage), stick with Pirate Ship. If you need UPS postage, stick with UPS.com (they accept PayPal - which they can't charge again later) and pay the higher fees they charge.