Advance mail

From the Prussian postal advance , the beginnings of which can be found in the first half of the 18th century, the later cash on delivery method developed.

The advance payment system differs from the cash on delivery procedure in that the sender was able to have the amount on the consignment paid out in cash by the post when it was posted (hence the post advance payment). The subsequent actual collection and transmission of the amount from the destination to the post office was left to the Post at its own risk. The sender later received a voucher for the advance shipment, which he could redeem after receipt of the money at the post office.

Up until the first half of the 19th century, the Prussian post office officials were initially only allowed to deal with the authorities, later also in dealings with private individuals, in exchange for a "proxy fee" in addition to postage as a "private activity". The administrative fee fell to the civil servant (Postordnung 1782, Regulativ 1824).

The advance payment procedure became the general line of business of the Prussian Post through the Postal Act of 1852. The regulations of 1856 regulated the procedure as follows: Payment of advances to the sender only after payment to the post office, immediate payment of advances only to authorities and trustworthy persons Persons after depositing a security. The Norddeutsche Bundespost and the Reichspost adhered to the procedure. Because of the unequal treatment of the deliverers and the many embezzlements, the advance payment system was finally changed to the cash on delivery business on October 1, 1878 .

The rules for cash on delivery were changed: in 1886 a higher maximum amount, in 1890 a reduction in fees, and in 1892 postcards, printed matter and samples were accepted as cash on delivery. In 1909 it was possible to transfer money to a postal check account. 1911 Introduction of special forms for cash on delivery cards and cash on delivery package cards. In 1912, the Post's liability regime was changed.

The interstate cash on delivery traffic was regulated by individual contracts until 1885. It was not until the Universal Postal Congress in Lisbon (1885) that general provisions, initially about cash on delivery parcels, were included in the Parcel Convention for the first time. The cash on delivery letter was regulated at the World Congress in Vienna (1891) by admitting registered mail, insured letters and value boxes under cash on delivery.