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Ferndown PO Branch — Outline of Meeting with Mrs Athwal 6" January
2011
Attendees at meeting:
Kevin Gilliland — Sales & Network Director, POL
Angela Van Den Bogerd — Head of Network Services, POL
Helen Rose — Tactical Analyst, Security, POL
Mrs Rachpal Athwal, Spmr Ferndown Post Office
Mark Baker, NFSP Executive Officer
Note — Mrs Athwal in accepting the invitation to attend the meeting requested
that the meeting be recorded. We are happy to record the meeting and
provide a CD record for Mrs Athwal providing all attendees agree to the
meeting being taped and that the recording is intended only as a factual
record of the meeting. The content of the meeting is to remain confidential
and the information discussed is not to be shared with other parties unless
the express permission of all the attendees is given in advance of any
disclosure.
Purpose of meeting:
Given recent events and ongoing correspondence the purpose of meeting
today is to identify any outstanding issues; agree an approach to resolving
these and in doing so begin to re-establish the relationship between us (POL
and Mrs Athwal)
Areas to cover at meeting:
1) Horizon system.
a) Integrity of the Horizon System. Mrs Athwal has questioned the
integrity of the Horizon system. Helen to talk Mrs Athwal through the
Horizon information/transaction logs to demonstrate the facts of the
loss(es) in question. Helen Rose
b) POL or Fujitsu having remote access to individual horizon
systems. The system is based on a user log in, and all actions have to
be endorsed by the user. POL cannot remotely control a branches
system.
All system activity, down to the individual key stroke, is also recorded
into a separate vaulted transaction file with every record encrypted and
written to the log and with each record having a unique incrementing
sequence number.
Any technical changes by Fujitsu that impact the system have to go
through clearance processes which would prevent any amendment to
existing data.
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c) Reliability of the Horizon System/Network Performance
Our contract with Fujitsu and the associated SLA is based on a
99.45% service across the network as a whole. The most recent
statistics reveal that the system is performing at 99.62% and so we can
comfortably say that we are performing ahead of target. This is a
network wide measure and not branch specific.
d) Independent review of Horizon system integrity. POL is fully
satisfied that the Horizon systems and the accounting processes
around it are robust and fit for purpose. Systems are based on the
principles of double entry book-keeping, have been subjected to
independently assured testing processes, information security is
accredited to industry standards, the system meets all payment
industry standards, there are the necessary checks and balances
throughout the system to ensure its integrity with secure audit logs are
maintained of all activity. The accounts of the company are subject to
full appropriate external audit.
In addition to the independent review above, the robustness of the
Horizon system is audited on an annual basis by Ernst & Young. Never
before has the quality and accuracy of the system been doubted here.
2. Issues raised by Mrs. Athwal in her email to Andy Terrett of 5"
November
Mrs. Athwal asks the following questions in her email to Andy, answers
which
need to be provided. Questions along with suggested POL response are as
follows:
a) My office was closed 6th & 7th May 2010 for which you have not
paid me any money. Following further investigation we can confirm
that we will credit your account with £463.32, covering your absence
form the branch on the 6" & 7 May. You will receive a letter from POL
detailing the calculation used here. This will be paid in January’s
remuneration.
b) On the 7 May 2010, I gave a cheque to the Auditor which cleared
through the account for £961.39, which also needs to be refunded.
The cheque will not been refunded as this was paid to cover the loss
discovered at your office by our audit team. Under the terms of your
agent contract you are responsible for making good any losses
incurred at your office. One of the factors taken into account when
agreeing to reinstate you as sub postmaster at Ferndown branch was
the fact that you had made good all outstanding losses.
c) Since this is a Commercial Debt, I am entitled to receive Interest in
accordance with, The Late Payment of Commercial Debts
(Interest) Act 1998. See above — this is not a commercial debt
d) In addition to the above, I also lost 4 days trading in the shop
which averages around £350 per day. Post Office Ltd takes no
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responsibility for the non Post Office business conducted in your
premises and are not obligated to compensate you for any loss of
business here.
3. Issues raised by Mrs. Athwal in her letter to Paula Vennells of 2"¢
December
The following issues are apparent within the letter dated 2" December:
a) Accusations of a data protection breach by POL. POL has
apologised for the error involved here which should never have
happened. We have taken steps to rectify the errors in our internal
systems to prevent this from happening again. Under the terms of the
data protection act, a breach is classed as an incident whereby an
individuals’ personal information is disclosed to an unauthorised third
party. In this case, no specific personal details, financial or otherwise
were disclosed, only data pertaining to the amount of remuneration to
be reimbursed. This data is not personal to you but to the Post Office
and in any event, the temporary agent who opened the letter was well
aware of the levels of income generated by Ferndown Post Office
branch.
Our legal advice is that POL has not committed a breach of the data
protection act on this occasion and no compensation will be payable to you.
4. Threats to prevent any POL auditors from accessing the premises
a) Mrs. Athwal threatens to prevent access to her premises until
such point as all her questions have been answered and she has
been provided with a list of all personnel logged on to her system
remotely, without her authority. Whilst we will endeavour to answer
all questions posed by Mrs Athwal, Mrs. Athwal needs to understand
that all cash and stock contained within her premises is the property of
Post Office Ltd, as is the Horizon system itself. Mrs. Athwal is acting as
an agent for and on behalf of POL.
If Mrs. Athwal refuses entry to her premises she is automatically in
breach of
section 12 of her sub postmaster contract. An extract from clause 12 is
attached below:
ACCOUNTS
4. The Subpostmaster must ensure that accounts of all stock and cash
entrusted to him by Post Office Ltd are kept in the form prescribed by Post
Office Ltd. He must immediately produce these accounts, and the whole of
his Post Office® branch cash and stock for inspection whenever so requested
by a person duly authorised by Post Office Ltd.
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