SHORT-PAID RECONCILIATION SYSTEMS AND METHODS
Systems and methods are provided for enabling third parties, such as authorized vendors, to reconcile short-paid adjustment requests initiated by service providers such as, for example, the United States Postal Service, in response to customer non- or underpayment for services rendered. In an embodiment, a method includes the steps of storing a short-paid adjustment request from an initiator, identifying a source for the short-paid adjustment request, generating a request to a VBI meter system for a short-paid adjustment request based on the source identified, storing the VBI meter system response to the short-paid adjustment request, and generating a file to the initiator based on the VBI meter system response.
1 . A method for reconciling at least one short-paid adjustment request received from an initiator, comprising the steps of:
storing at least one short-paid adjustment request from the initiator;
identifying at least one source for the short-paid adjustment request;
generating a request to a value bearing item (VBI) meter system for a short-paid meter adjustment based on the at least one identified source;
storing the VBI meter system response to the short-paid meter adjustment request; and
generating at least one file to the initiator based on the VBI meter system response to the short-paid meter adjustment request.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of validating the short-paid adjustment request prior to or in conjunction with the source identification.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one source is selected from the group consisting of: a user account, a meter serial number, a meter account, and a funding account.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the VBI meter system response is at least one of a VBI, a non-VBI, adjusted meter register values, evidence of a short-paid adjustment or an error.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of determining the status of the short-paid adjustment request following the step of receiving the response to the short-paid meter adjustment request.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the file includes at least one of evidence of at least one meter adjustment performed in response to the short-paid meter adjustment request or at least one invalid short-paid adjustment request.
7 . A method for reconciling at least one short-paid adjustment request received from an initiator, comprising the steps of:
generating a request to a VBI meter system for a short-paid meter adjustment based on a prior short-paid meter adjustment request;
storing the VBI meter system response to the short-paid meter adjustment request;
determining the status of the short-paid adjustment request; and
generating at least one file to the initiator based on the response to the short-paid meter adjustment request.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the prior short-paid meter adjustment request is at least one of a partial adjustment, no adjustment or a system error.
9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the response to the short-paid meter adjustment request is at least one of a full adjustment, a partial adjustment, no adjustment, a validation error or a system error.
10 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising:
processor-executable instructions stored therein and configured to cause a processor to:
initiate storing at least one short-paid adjustment request from an initiator;
initiate identifying at least one source for the short-paid adjustment request;
initiate generating a request to a VBI meter system for a short-paid meter adjustment based on the at least one identified source;
initiate storing the VBI meter system response to the short-paid meter adjustment request; and
initiate generating at least one file to the initiator based on the VBI meter system response to the short-paid meter adjustment request.
11 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the VBI meter system response is one of a VBI, a non-VBI, an adjusted register value, evidence of a short-paid adjustment, a non-response or an error.
12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the processor-executable instructions further include instructions configured to initiate causing the processor to validate the short-paid adjustment request prior to or in conjunction with the source identification.
13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the processor-executable instructions further includes instructions configured to initiate causing the processor to determine the status of the short-paid adjustment request following the step of receiving the response to the short-paid meter adjustment request.
14 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising:
processor-executable instructions stored therein and configured to cause a processor to:
initiate generating a request for a short-paid meter adjustment based on a prior short-paid meter adjustment request;
initiate storing a response to the short-paid meter adjustment request;
initiate determining the status of the short-paid adjustment request; and
initiate generating at least one file based on the response to the short-paid meter adjustment request.
15 . A system for reconciling at least one short-paid adjustment request received from an initiator comprising:
a value bearing item (VBI) meter system for generating evidence of a short-paid adjustment; and
a processor coupled to the VBI meter system, the processor configured to:
process and identify one or more sources of the short-paid adjustment request;
initiate a short-paid meter adjustment request for a value adjustment to the VBI meter system based on at least one short-paid adjustment request; and
generate at least one file for the initiator based on the VBI meter system response to the short-paid meter adjustment request.
16 . A system for reconciling at least one short-paid adjustment request received from an initiator comprising:
a network;
a value bearing item (VBI) meter system coupled to the network for generating evidence of a short-paid adjustment; and
a processor coupled to the network, the processor configured to:
process and identify one or more sources of the short-paid adjustment request;
initiate a short-paid meter adjustment request for a value adjustment to the VBI meter system based on at least one short-paid adjustment request; and
generate at least one file for the initiator based on the VBI meter system response to the short-paid meter adjustment request.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the network is configured to facilitate at least one of:
communication of a request for a short-paid meter adjustment request;
transmitting a response to the short-paid meter adjustment request including at least one of a full adjustment, a partial adjustment, no adjustment, a validation error or a system error; and
communication of the at least one file to the initiator based on the VBI meter system response to the short-paid meter adjustment request.
18 . (canceled)
19 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the processor is further configured to validate the short-paid adjustment request.
20 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the processor processes responses from the VBI meter system before generating the at least one file for the initiator.
21 . The system of claim 16 , further comprising at least one additional processor for validating, sourcing, accounting and processing the short-paid adjustment request to the VBI meter system.
22 - 41 . (canceled)