On November 18 we celebrate our tenth anniversary at Williton Post Office. During that time, much has been changed by Post Office Ltd, mostly to our detriment, as many transactions can now be done on-line while others have been take away completely. This has resulted in the reduction of our overall footfall and noticeably shorten queues. We would like to point out to the people of Williton and the
surrounding areas that if this trend continues we may well go the same way as the now-closed NatWest Bank. Recently there has been some TV coverage with regard to Post Office Ltd and re-formation of their outlets. In this regard, we have been approached by the Network Transformation Team, who have given us the option of either moving into the Spar store or staying in our own property with a reduction in our salary of £500 per month. It is worthy noting that sub-postmasters have not had a pay increase in the past seven years. although Post Office employees at Crown Offices enjoy annual increments. Furthermore, those in management at Post Office Ltd awarded themselves in the region of £5m collectively last year. We have decided to try and stay where we are, making the necessary structural chances that Post Office Ltd will require for this option. However, if we are to survive the reduced income we will need greater support in the form of footfall and an increase in transactions per customer. The general public are largely unaware of the wide variety of excellent competitively-priced products available from Post Office Ltd. These include Post Office Homephone with broadband, mortgages, vehicle, home, pet, life, funeral and travel insurance, a range of short and long term savings options, and credit and travel money cards. We have really enjoyed the fantastic public support that we have had and do hope that we will be able to continue serving the community for many years to come. We are not asking you to spend more money, but rather to consider paying your bills, taxing your vehicles and using our many services and products in the safety of your local Post Office, saving youself bank and postage charges as well. We have to submit a financial assessment of our Post Office and retail business before the end of October in order for Post Office Ltd to allow us to continue the negotiations – hence our request for you support in both these sectors.