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In the tenth report of the Commissioners of Post Office Inquiry, January 1838 it was recommended that a uniform fee of 2d should be charged for the registration of letters and that the Post Office should admit liability for their loss up to a maximum of £5. This scheme was to come into force in June 1839. However it was stopped by news of impending reductions in postage rates. A general scheme for the registration of inland letters came into force on 6 January 1841. Registration was applicable to any valuable letter for a prepaid fee of one shilling. There was no compulsion or compensation. By 1854 the fee was payable by stamps and in 1856 letters marked 'registered' and posted in a letter box were charged one shilling.

The principle of 'compulsory registration' was introduced on 1 August 1862 for all letters containing coin and passing through London, at a double registration fee of 18 pence. Compulsory registration was extended throughout the country during 1863. On 1 September 1873 compulsory registration also became applicable to those letters containing jewellery and watches.

The principle of compensation for damage and loss to registered letters was introduced on 1 January 1878 at a sum of two pounds.

The Recorded Delivery Service was introduced in 1961, it provided proof of delivery at a much lower cost than using Registered Post. Recorded Delivery was recommended for sending documents and papers of little or no monetary value, whereas items of value were recommended to be sent by Registered Letter Post.

The Compensation Fee service was introduced in 1972, it was to be used when sending valuable items by parcel post to provide compensation in the event of loss or damage and also to provide a record of posting.

The Special Delivery Service was introduced in the 1980s to provide customers with a service whereby an item could be delivered to a UK address on the next working day; the Datapost service, introduced in 1981 operated in the same area and could guarantee next day delivery to most destinations, providing a record of posting, documented handling en route and moderate compensation in case of loss or damage.

Consequential Loss Insurance was introduced in May 1982, it was designed to insure against the risk of loss-arising from some failure in the postal service-which was over and above the actual value of the article posted; it was provided as an optional extra with the Inland Registered Letter Service.

In the 1990s, a whole range of new services were introduced, including the Swiftair service, which guaranteed next day delivery to international destinations. In addition the Special Delivery/Registered Post portfolios was extended to include: Registered Plus, similar to the Registered Service in that it guaranteed next day delivery, but it offered a higher rate of compensation for damage or loss and the Sameday Delivery service, offering delivery by 6pm on the same day.