Method for providing advanced notification of mailpiece contents

A method for providing mailpiece notification from a postal carrier system to a mailpiece recipient indicating the subject matter of a mailpiece that has been deposited with the postal carrier system for delivery to the mailpiece recipient, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a database containing prescribed mailpiece addressee information for said mailpiece recipient and preferred communication information including at least the recipient's name and an email address indicating where the recipient desires to receive said mailpiece notification;
• receiving in a postal carrier mailpiece delivery system information indicating the subject matter for said mailpiece deposited with said postal carrier system, the name of the intended recipient for said deposited mailpiece and the postnet barcode for the intended recipient, which said information is received in said postal carrier system without requiring optical scanning of said mailpiece;
• determining whether the addressee information present on said deposited mailpiece matches a said recipient's addressee information prescribed in said database;
• and
• providing email notification to said mailpiece recipient via said prescribed recipient email address notifying said mailpiece recipient of said received subject matter for said processing mailpiece if it was determined the addressee information present on said deposited mailpiece matches said recipient's addressee information as prescribed in said database.

A method for providing mailpiece notification from a postal carrier system to a mailpiece recipient indicating the subject matter of a mailpiece that has been deposited with said postal carrier system for delivery to the mailpiece recipient which mailpiece was deposited with said postal carrier system in a mail run containing a plurality of individual mailpieces from a mailer, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a first database in said postal carrier system that is accessible to a said mailpiece recipient;
• providing a computer system in said postal carrier system;
• prescribing in said first database by a said intended mailpiece recipient information including recipient's mailpiece address information and an email address prescribing where the recipient desires to receive said mailpiece notification;
• generating in said postal carrier computer system a postnet barcode for a said mailpiece recipient based upon and corresponding to said prescribed mailpiece address for said mailpiece recipient;
• storing in said first database said generated postnet barcode for said mailpiece recipient;
• providing a said mail run to said postal carrier system from a mailer;
• providing at least one electronic file to said postal carrier system which said electronic file contains at least each recipient's name, the corresponding subject matter and corresponding postnet barcode for each mailpiece contained in said provided mail run;
• determining in said postal carrier computer system whether a prescribed recipient name and said corresponding postnet barcode stored in said first database matches a recipient name and corresponding postnet barcode provided in said electronic file from said mailer;
• and
• providing email notification to said mailpiece recipient via said recipient's prescribed email address notifying said mailpiece recipient of said mailpiece subject matter provided in said at least one electronic file that corresponds to said determined matching recipient name if it was determined said recipient name and said corresponding postnet barcode stored in said first database matches a recipient name and corresponding postnet barcode provided in said electronic file from said mailer.