Postmistress says Horizon system still malfunctions every week – and Post Office are chasing payment

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A Scottish sub-postmistress who faces shedding her house and enterprise says the Post Office is still pursuing her for shortfall funds from the Horizon software program system.

Marlene Wood, 53, mentioned that discrepancies with the Horizon IT system have turn out to be “part of my working week”, and she estimates she has misplaced two 1000’s kilos during the last 4 and half years because of the malfunctioning system.

As lately as final month, Mrs Wood obtained a letter, seen by the Independent, which asks her to resolve the discrepancy of £440.43 at her Comrie Crieff department in Perthshire, Scotland. The letter gives units out the assorted payment strategies she will be able to use.

Mrs Wood mentioned that she has paid discrepancies out of her personal pocket up to now, as a result of the dispute system is “a whole lot of hassle and for not much benefit.”

“I think if you’re someone who is savvy and quite confident and doesn’t mind going through the whole process of doing that, then that’s great.

“But I am currently going through a separation due to the failing business that I’ve got. I’m in danger of losing it. Real danger, not just perceived,” she defined.

Over the previous 20 years, a whole bunch of sub-postmasters and postmistresses had been prosecuted for theft and false accounting after the defective IT system, developed by Fujitsu, wrongly made it appear to be cash was lacking from their Post Office branches.

Many misplaced their properties, reputations, marriages – and some took their very own lives.

On Friday, the European Director of Fujitsu, Paul Patterson, instructed the general public inquiry into the scandal that bugs, errors and defects had existed within the Horizon IT system for almost 20 years and had been identified about “by all parties”.

Yet it was solely in 2019 that some claimants obtained compensation, when the UK excessive courtroom dominated that there have been defects within the Horizon system.

The Post Office continues to make use of the Horizon system regardless of continued experiences of defects, having prolonged its contract twice – as soon as in 2021 and once more in 2023.

But now, Mrs Wood, who hasn’t confronted prosecution for the discrepancies, claims that she is still experiencing common malfunctions with the software program, inflicting her intense monetary and emotional pressure.

“It has taken me to dark places. I have pressure from the bank, the pressure to keep going every day,” she mentioned.

“I have seriously contemplated ending my life and that is not something that I have put out into the public domain lightly. If lose my business, I also lose my home. It’s that simple”

On Tuesday Mr Patterson issued a public apology to the victims of the scandal, telling MPs that he’s “truly sorry” and that the agency has a “moral obligation” to assist compensate the victims.

Mr Patterson mentioned the corporate had accepted its half in “this appalling miscarriage of justice” and acknowledged: “We were involved from the very start”.

Mrs Wood instructed The Independent she believed they had been solely saying sorry “because they got caught with their pants down.

“It does smack of trying to shut the stable door after the horses go for it.”

The sub-postmistress additionally expressed her anger that former Chief Executive of the Post Office, Paula Vennells, was provided a CBE, regardless of her position within the scandal.

“People like Paula Vennells are disgraced and then handed directorships or other things, with wages of hundreds of thousands.

“No one’s going to give me a directorship. I’m going to lose everything. I’m going to lose absolutely everything. I have worked hard and I have played by the rules. And it’s just an absolute slap in the face.”

A Post Office spokesperson apologised for Mrs Wood’s ongoing points however insisted the most recent Horizon system was now strong “relative to comparable systems”.

Adding: “But we are not at all complacent about that and we continue to work with our postmasters to identify and invest in improvements. Current postmasters who have concerns about today’s Horizon system are encouraged to raise these with us – including directly with their area manager – so that we can help.”

Fujitsu mentioned it regards this matter “with the utmost seriousness” and “offers its deepest apologies to the sub-postmasters and their families”:

“The UK statutory public Inquiry, to which our UK subsidiary is providing full cooperation, is examining complex events that have unfolded over many years, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to this cooperation.

“Based on the findings of the Inquiry, we will also be working with the UK government on the appropriate actions, including contribution to compensation. The Fujitsu Group hopes for a swift resolution that ensures a just outcome for the victims.”