HAYWARD, Calif., June 26, 2001 -- Neopost Inc., a worldwide leader in mailing, addressing, document handling and logistics systems, announced today that it is providing its customers with the best possible support to help them through the second postal rate increase in 2001, which goes into effect July 1. Neopost is providing information on the rate change, supporting installation of new rate paks in postal scales, and offering discounts on rate paks if customers order them by June 30. Due to the increase, every business across the country will be required to update its postal scale or risk having its company mail returned. To prepare for the rate change, Neopost and other mail vendors must ship rate paks to be inserted into their customers' postal scales in order for the scales to be automatically updated with the new rates. The installment of these paks is typically user-friendly. However, it and the rate change itself often lead to confusion for customers, who flood the vendors' call centers asking for help. Beginning June 1, Neopost sent letters to all customers alerting them of the new rate change. The letter gave a detailed list of the increases, as well as an explanation as to why certain postage prices went up. Additionally, for three weeks beginning June 25, every Neopost employee, including CEO Anthony Adkins, will be assigned a shift to field the anticipated flurry of calls from customers looking for assistance with replacing the rate pak or information about the rate change. In anticipation of customer questions or concerns that may arise during non-work hours, Neopost has created a special link on its Web site to address rate-change related issues (www.neopostinc.com/sup/rch000.html). There is a 'frequently asked questions' section that provides details about the rate change, a downloadable rate chart that denotes all of the rate changes, a virtual letter scale that allows people to type in the weight of a letter to calculate the postage and a direct link to the United States Postal Service Web site. In an unprecedented decision to help ease the effect of the second rate change in one year, customers who ordered updated rate paks by June 30 will be able to take advantage of a discount on their orders. "We are doing everything we can to make the postage rate transition as painless as possible for our customers," said Neopost CEO Anthony Adkins. "Anyone can click onto our rate change support link on our Web site or call our toll-free number to get details about the rate increase or personalized assistance with inserting the new rate pak. This is an example of the quality customer service Neopost has given its customers for more than 70 years."