NEWSLETTER 01-07

Greetings to you all wherever you may be and welcome to all new customers. Ship to Shore is now in its 13th year and still growing successfully.

The main reason for writing to you is to inform you of some changes to the fee structure. The registration fee has remained the same for many years and is not currently under review. But due to an increase in the cost of services and materials over the past few years, it means that Ship to Shore cannot continue to operate profitably without applying an increase to some of its basic charges.

What will change is the following:
  1. Handling fees for unopened mail will now be 25p per item.
  2. Handling fees for opened and filtered mail will now be 35p per item.
  3. There will be an increase in my hourly rate and minimum charges for paying in cheques and other services I offer. The attached fee structure will hopefully give you a more comprehensive idea of the changes.
  4. These new charges will take effect as from May 1st 2007.
I also wanted to make you aware of the fact that Royal Mail have increased their postal rates yet again and are planning another increase in April 2007. First class stamps will be 34p up to 100g and second class stamps will be 24p up to 100g. Postal charges for UK mainland also vary according to size of envelope. These changes will also affect postal services such as recorded delivery and international postage. .

Because Ship to Shore is a small operation and tries to keep costs low for all concerned, it cannot sustain overdrawn accounts. A surcharge will now be levied on amounts outstanding for more than 30 days at 10% of the overdrawn amount. This surcharge will be applied for each 30 days the account is overdrawn. A reminder will always be sent before the account is overdrawn to avoid late payments.

To save you the inconvenience or worry of remembering to send cheques, there is always the option of paying by standing order for postage and handling costs. If you are interested, I can forward you a form. The volume of payments does not, Iím afraid, justify the setting up of a credit card facility.

Lastly, may I thank you all for your continued support and wish you well in all your future plans.

Michelle Miller