A hearing is scheduled Nov. 24. John Hughes, lead trial counsel for the Postal Service, said the two sides are trying to negotiate a settlement before the hearing. The Postal Service sells postage in advance and the meters keep track of what's been used. When the postage is used up, the meter holder has to renew postage. Three years ago the Postal Service decided that it could eliminate millions of dollars in fraud each year if it discontinued mechanical meters in favor of electronic ones.
Computer chips are harder to alter than the wheels and gears of mechanical meters.
Mailing shops and high-volume mailers already have converted. More than 60 percent of meter users now use electronic meters, the Postal Service says. The Postal Service had planned to send a letter last month telling mechanical postage meter customers of the required change. Pitney Bowes balked at having the Postal Service tell its customers how to contact its competitors. It sued the Postal Service at the end of September, blocking the mailing.