When the business and property was purchased in 1998 an amount of £65,000 was identified as being for the post office element (using the industry standard calculation of 1.5 times annual salary of that post office, though of recent I have heard it can be up to 3 times).  Within 18 months a major refurbishment had begun to bring the post office to the front of the building at cost of a further £40,000, with the long term aim of improving the service we offered thereby increasing the turnover of post office business.

It is worth noting that though the previous subpostmaster received the £65,000 as part of the total purchase price, it was a condition of the purchase contract that Post Office Limited gave final approval which sanctioned the payment.  Five and a half years on, Post Office Limited just walked off with an investment we had spent over £100,000 on, and in their own words ‘without having to give a reason’.  In effect they had given away our investment to a third party without compensating us for our loss.   They cannot claim they were not aware of the financial implications to us of their actions.  Was it a balanced or proportional response to their original concerns, especially considering their failure to address the points raised with them on numerous occasions? In my experience of dealing with Post Office personnel I can honestly say they are less than honourable, a tribute which no doubt originates from the top down.