POL00069282
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29-11-85 15:24 FROM:MARINE+DRIVEtHU 1 I GRO
Peco
(VD Day
(2) Defendant
(3) First
Claim No. HQ 05 X 02706
IN THF I1IGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
BETWEEN:
POST OFFICE LIMITED
Claimant/
Part 20 Defendant
and
LEE CASTLETON
Defendanv
Part 20 Claimant
WITNESS STATEMENT OF
DOROTHY DAY
1. I am currently the temporary sub-postmaster of Marine Drive Post Office in Bridlington,
Prior to that, I had been sub-postmaster of my own post office at Jaddress} for 14 years
Lene ens Po
before selling the office. : iStaytucs 6 ee
(GRO ‘staves.
Leegegegegeennned Ts 4 AG
MG cet OGLESET
2. 1 was asked on 29 May 2004 by [who?} on behalf of the Post Office tv go to Marine
Drive Post Office to take over as temporary sub-postinaster following the suspension of
the previous sub-postmaster, Lec CastIcton.
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@9-11-Ub 1ote4 FRUM? MARINER Ive tr E 1Useo4D 449 (Du Prien co
3.It soon became apparent to me that there were
intermittent problems with the Horizon computer system in usc
at Marine Drive Post Office. The most worrying and
inconvenient of these was that debit and credit cards would
intermittently fail to register when swiped through the gateway
keyboard to pay for customer transactions. The terminal would
go off-line frequently and swipe cards would only work on the
gateway intermittently but be ok on the node 2 terminal.
4. The only way round this problem was to finish the
transaction to cash and then create a “fulse” sale of the same
amount to stamps on the secondary terminal to enable me to
clear the outstanding amount. I would then have to adjust the
stamp stock to reinstate the fictitious sale of stamps.
5. The keyboard on the gateway was changed (three limes
before the problem was solved. At one point, the engincer who
attended the site resorted to switching keyboards between the
two terminals-the “faulty” keyboard from the gateway then
worked perfectly on the other terminal and exhibited none of
the problems that it had shown previously when attached to the
gateway. This made me think that there was something morc
than the keyboard at fault in causing the problems that I had
experienced.
6. After a few weeks in post at Marine Drive Post Office,
and whilst the problems ongoing, I received a visit from a
training instructor from the Post Office in respect of the fact
that [ had no experience of on line lottery. By this point it was a
useless visit as I had already had to ask Mrs Train the
procedure for accounting for the lottery.
J asked Ann whether she would find it acceptable for me
to have to work with this problem if I were a new sub-
postmaster with no experience. She replied quite categorically
that it was not acceptable.
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Although when I started at Marine Drive Post Office I was sceptical (hat the Post Office
would resort to suspending a sub-postmaster without irrefutable proof of wrong-doing, I
began to doubt whether this was in fact the case and whether Mr Castleton had in fact
‘been made a scapcgoat for a problem with the Horizon computer system
Treviewed the cash account for the first week after Mr Castleton’s suspension, when the
office had been run by Ruth Simpson, and discovered a number of what I considered to
be alarming things. Firstly, the amount that Mrs Simpson had handwritten on the lottery
transaction as having been taken from Mr Castleton had not had the prizes deducted even
though they were clearly shown on the account. When then was Mrs Simpsorover by
this amount at the final balance?
Sceondly, it appeared that the cash account had been rolled over twice, with two final
balance tally rolls produced at different times of day. This is something that is supposed
to be impossible do as this would then roll over two weeks . .
Secondly, it appeared that the cash account had been rolled over twice,
with two final balance tally rolls produced at different times of day.
In July 2004, I was then visited by Mrs Oglesby, the Post Office's Regional Line
Manager responsible for the Marine Prive office. She asked me whether I would be
prepared (o reinstate Christine Train, Mr Castleton’ assistant who had been suspended at
the same lime as Mr Castleton had. Ms Oglesby seemed desperate to have Miss Train
back in the office, 1 gladly took her back as, having got to know her over the 2 months
that I had been at Marine Drive, I knew that she was dedicated to the only job she had
ever known since leaving school and it had hit her hard that her honesty was being
questioned. For my own part, I have never had any problems with her honesty and
integrity.
‘This is something that is supposed to be impossible to do as this would
then roll over two weeks instead of one. This could only be done with
outside intervention.
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EPTLEK UD LOPE PRU INA eave Be Greene.
12,
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15:43
At this point, I thought (hat it might be sensible for me to join the National Federation of
Sub-pustnasters as a result of the apparent problems with the [orizon systcm. I was very
aware that what had happened to Mr Castleton could just as casily happen to me and in
those circumstances it would pay me to have the Federation's backing. However, I was
refused membership of the Pederation on the basis that 1 was only a temporary sub-
postmaster. f queried this and was told that the Post Office does not allow temporary sub-
postmasters to join the Federation. 1 found this rather surprising given (hat the Federation
is supposed to be an independent body.
Lhave now heen at Manne Drive Post Office for around 2% years and I am convinced
that the problem 1s with the Horizon system. ] look back at my own officc, which was a
small village post office, and recall that T had two anomalies which T could not explain.
The tirst occurred within 2 months of Horizon being installed when T was several
hundred pounds in surplus which never tumed up. The second occurred some 5 months
before I letl my office when on a Tuesday I was again several hundred pounds over.
‘Tuesday was my half-day of trading and I more or less knew everyone who had been in
and out and could not explain where this amount could have appeared from. ‘Ihe source
of the discrepancy never turned up and T was at a loss to understand how this could be.
Surely if T had missed inputting a Giro payment or a National Savings & Investment
payment someone would have missed it sooner or later’? 1 have worked in accounts
offices all my working life and have regularly done double-cntry book-keeping. [hese
anomalies must be turning up somewhere.
P.27
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29-11-_ 1d>teb FRUMMHRINE TDR VETO
13. I truly believe that Mr Castleton hay done nothing wrong otherwise I would have left
Marine Drive Post Office a long time ago.
14, I believe that the contents of this statement are true.
2+ InJoe
DATED:
SIGNED:
626
96% P.28
29-NOU-2005 15:44