Apparatus for the analysis of postage meter usage.

A method and system for analyzing the usage of postage meters with respect to the history of meter recharges for the purpose of detecting fraudulent or improper usage of the meters. The apparatus includes an optical character recognition system which scans mail pieces in a stream of mail pieces to recognize postage amounts and meter identification numbers imprinted on the mail pieces. The apparatus also includes inputs for input of data representing the recharge history for postage meters which correspond to authorized identification numbers and thresholds, i.e. parameters against which expenditures and the refill history of a particular meter will be tested. A data processing system compares cumulative amounts of postage expended by a particular meter to determine if the difference between totals expended and total recharges exceeds the thresholds, indicating the possibility of fraudulent or improper use of that meter. When such possible fraudulent or improper use is detected the apparatus diverts the suspect mail pieces from the mail stream. In one embodiment the apparatus may include an input for input of particular meter identification number to be diverted. In another embodiment the apparatus may check for incorrect dates on mail pieces.