Prior to leaving his or her “station” each morning your letter carrier receives and signs for his “accountables”. These consist of his keys which can open the mail boxes on his route as well as the collection boxes and relay boxes. Then there’s the mail itself. Accountable mail consists of registered, certified, insured pieces or anything requiring a signature from the recipient. The postage due mail is lumped in with the accountables, though neither your carrier nor the addressee is required to sign for receipt. Your carrier has the option to simply pay the postage due and case the letter in with his regular mail or take the letter on “consignment” to collect the debt. If you have a decent relationship with your postman, he will often choose to “eat” the change due on a letter rather than bother with the hassle and delay involved with ringing and waiting. This is particularly true if he knows that you can be depended on to leave the postage due in the mailbox for him to recover the next day. People rarely appreciate that there can be crucial benefits from kindness to a mailman that they may rarely see. If your mailman has been your mailman for more than a year, he KNOWS more about you and your neighborhood than you would probably be willing to believe, and a $5 tip at Christmas (or home made cookies) is a good investment.