So we’ve decided to run the competition again to give even more people the chance to win this fantastic prize.

See here for full details.

Some major aesthetic changes have also been made to our How It Works and Home pages.

We have also redeveloped our Document Management System from the ground up, this means we’ll now be even better at keeping our clients informed and dispatching paperwork.

Prison Service Order (PSO) number 4455 states that although there is no legal limitation on the right of prisoners to change their name, the prison service is under no obligation to acknowledge a new name.

So under what circumstances will the prison service accept a prisoner’s change of name? The PSO states that a prison governor will usually accept and officially acknowledge a name changed in specific circumstances such as:

• When the request is the result of a change of marital status

• When the change of name is on genuine religious grounds. If a prisoner wishes to change his or her name on such grounds, operational managers must obtain the views of the Chaplain (or equivalent) of the relevant faith.

• When not to acknowledge the new name may cause severe psychological harm to the prisoner. In this case, medical advice should be sought.

However, governors of prisons are not obliged to accept a name change and can reject any proposed change of name if they have compelling reasons to refuse. This could be seen as important and essential protection against repeated, disruptive name changes. It may also be a concern where public and victim protection is an issue or where the requested name change might compromise security within the prison. Refusal might also be on the grounds that the proposed name change might be deemed to be likely to have a detrimental effect on order or discipline within the prison.

Even if a prisoner is granted the right to be known by a different name (not formalised by Deed Poll) within the prison he or she will normally still be known as the name they had when they were first taken into custody.

Those prisoners requesting to change their names who are under 18 would normally be asked to speak first to their parents or guardians, or to any local authority agency responsible for them, before a final decision was made.

If a prisoner seeks a change of name by Deed Poll then this will normally be accepted as being a genuine desire and valid circumstances for the prisoner to change his or her name and to undertake the legal steps to make that possible. However, it is still possible for the prison governor to refuse the name change. Refusal however, would only realistically be in cases where the name change was considered offensive or obscene.

If a prison governor does refuse a name change then full documentation of the reasons for the refusal has to be entered on the prisoner’s official records.

Whether a name is accepted or not by the prison authorities the PSO states that prisoners should be allowed to send and receive their correspondence in the new name they have chosen to be known by. They are, however, urged to ensure that all correspondence received has their prison number on it as well, to avoid any confusion.

If a name change is accepted by the prison authorities then all the prisoners’ details will need to be changed on all official documentation and the change of name must then be carried forward if the prisoner leaves to be received in another establishment with his or her old name being noted as an ‘alias’. If the change of name is not accepted then no change to documentation need be made.

For prisoners wishing to access a service such as The UK Deed Poll Office (London) Ltd can make their first enquiry through prison authorities or by contacting the site directly.

As part of the phase one update, we have now added the option to our order forms for clients to purchase extra copies in ‘bundles’. Bundles are five pounds each and include five copies, an attractive saving over the individual cost price.

If you have any comments on the changes we’ve made to our website then we’d love to hear from you.

We have now introduced a brand new format/layout for our adult deed poll documents. The changes to the existing format have been implemented to improve the appearance of the documents, and make them even easier for our clients to sign (execute).

Price Update:

As of 25th April 2012 our pricing structure is as follows:

Online Orders – £15 per person

Telephone Orders – £20 per person

Postal Orders – £25 per person

‘In Person’ Orders (at our office, by appointment) – £45 per person

Ekomi

Following the closure of RatePoint, our former review management platform, we have now implemented a new system called Ekomi. Ekomi gathers real feedback from our clients and displays it directly on our site, we appreciate the positive reviews we have received so far and look forward to receiving many more in the future.

So you could easily end up being faced with a choice of paying anywhere from around £10 to £300 for a deed poll document.

Which is why many people ask: “why all the different prices?”. The fact is a deed poll document is literally just text on paper, so the material costs, even when using high quality paper, are very low.

This means that it’s entirely possible to offer deed poll documents for a low price and still make a profit. For example, we charge £15 because we feel it is a fair price and one which allows us to operate our business in a profitable manner.

Some may charge more, and often the adage ‘you get what you pay’ is applicable to many goods or services. But if that were true with deed poll documentation, then it would only be advisable to go through a law firm charging £300 or more.

Clearly, in this instance, the firm charging £300 isn’t providing any more than the firm charging £75, who is equally not providing any more than the online company charging £33, who is not providing any more than the company charging £15.

In the above scenario the most important thing is that all of the quotes have come from reputable companies/firms. Which is afterall the most important thing, because at the end-of-the-day, a scam company could charge £100 and not deliver the paperwork, whereas a highly reputable firm could charge much less, and yet provide a first class service.

Related Post: Official Deed Poll Service