Recently, someone called to see if we could help identify the origin of a letter critical in a legal matter. It was a case of potential title theft of this person’s home, a matter that had been in and out of court for over a decade. The case rested on whether or not this person received notification of a pending foreclosure within the legal window mandated by law, and whether or not that notice had been made by a legal representative of the lender.
After discussing this matter with the client and counsel, we determined that we could, indeed, extract the data needed for her case by reverse-engineering the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) in the address printed on the exhibit as provided by the lender.
- The Intelligent Mail barcode (IMB) is a 65-bar Postal Service™ barcode used to sort and track letters and flats. It allows mailers to use a single barcode to participate in multiple Postal Service programs simultaneously, expands mailers’ ability to track individual mail pieces, and provides greater mail stream visibility.
From the analysis of the IMB, and the data produced therefrom, we were able to publish an affidavit attesting that the communication had NOT been produced by the lender but by an unassociated third party. Furthermore, you can often tell as much by data that is missing, as data that is present. The data produced by the barcode lacked the time of production, when, or if, the notice was mailed, and no evidence of delivery.
Through the discovery and introduction of this information, and our affidavit volunteering as expert witnesses to this information, a decade-old title theft case was settled in the client’s favor.
When mailing legal, financial, or non-public private information (NPI), your ability to document your process and the completion of all the proper steps, checks and balances, is critical to the outcome of your efforts. Don’t leave critical documentation to chance. Mailtropolis has the systems and expertise to ensure your secure document production, delivery and documentation of completion and delivery.
