HOCO0000002 - Record of Taped Interview of Tracey Ann Merritt

Evidence on official site

HOCO0000002
Hocoo000002

Th hee. bel? gf cD? a
(Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL GROUP ~ CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview

Record of Taped Interview Summary
(delete as applicable)

Person interviewed: TRACEY ANN MERRITT(TM) Exhibit No:
Place of Interview: MORTON LAW SOICITORS Number of pages: 20...
YEOVIL
Signature of interviewer producing record
Date of Interview: 9.11.11 Time commenced: 13.18
Tape reference no.: 073467 Time concluded: 14.02
Duration of Interview: — 44 MINUTES.
Interviewing Officers: GARY THOMAS(GT) LISA ALLEN (LA)

Other persons present: MIKE ROBINSON (MR) - SOLICITOR

Tape counter Person TEXT.
times speaking

Usual introductions made, caution administered and explained. TM
confirms that prior to the interview, forms GS001 and GS003 were
completed and signed. TM accepts the presence of a Solicitor but not a

friend.

TM was interviewed regarding the audit shortage discovered on the 29""
September 2011 of £11,886.77 at Yetminster Post Office.

3.03 GT Can I ask you to explain to me why there was that shortage at the
branch?
™ Because your computers are naff basically. Because the computers do

their own thing (buzzer sounds)... you go off at night and they're

balanced and you come on in the morning and you've got a deficit but

6s015 Version 8.07/09
HOCO0000002
Hoco0000002

10,
te

Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

Tape counter I Person ° TEXT
times speaking

“Tm still waiting for you to tell me the results of the investigation from
when it was first rolled over by a member of your staff because you've
had £4,000 of my money already and I’m still waiting for the results of
that investigation.

3.36 GT Who was doing that investigation Tracey?

™ Well I reported it to the helpline, they spoke to the Contracts Manager

who apparently said that he was going to be very nice and take it out of

my wages and I said what happens then and they said there'll be a full
investigation at the end of it. If you've found that it's not anything to do
with you, we'll have your money back and that was 9 months ago and

they finished taking money out of my wage packets 8 months ago, for 8

months so I've had a month clear and I’m still waiting for the results and

nobody's. come back to me.

4.20 TM said she reported it to the helpdesk when it first happened and has
been contacting the Contracts Manager since she took on the Outreach
as that hasn't been set up correctly but has been waiting since May for

the Contracts Manager to ring her having left several messages.

5.03 GT Right well obviously that's a separate issue from here today?
T™ Well it’s not really is it because it’s all linked.
GT Well it’s not when the auditors turned up and you actually admitted to

them that you'd taken money on the night before the audit.

™ No I would have said “on that day” and I will state on my kids life I will
say anything when I'm shut in a room with 2 men that I do not know
and I'm shut in there all day long and I'm not allowed out and I feel very

intimidated, I will say anything to get myself out of that situation. I did

oso15 Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
Hocoo000002

it

Royal Mail Greup
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

“Tape counter I Person I TEXT
times speaking I

not take the money. I knew there was going to be money missing. I
wrote out a cheque the night before which should have covered it and
paid me more money back to cover the losses because they kept coming
up. By the time I'd done my end of trading on the Wednesday it should
have showed both offices well in credit so when they suddenly came up
with they wanted more money out of me and they said why he says, my

answer was “I have not got the foggiest”.

6.10 TM confirmed her log on code to be TMEQ01. She said her password is
secure. TM confirmed her daughter Lisa worked at the branch, her log
on code being LLP. She knows Lisa's password but Lisa did not know
hers. TM continued that Catherine Scott-Hamilton covered holidays and
Jean McDonald only worked once. She did not know Catherine’s log on
details or password and Catherine did not know hers or Lisa's.

7.34 GT With regards to obviously the cheques there's a £9,500 one here. It's
dated 29.9.11 and has an initial above where the 9 is. Suggestion being
that the, it was a 5 underneath and an error was made and then
subsequently changed to a 9 and initialled and I presume that’s your

initial there is it?

™ My initial yeah.

GT Ok and that cheque was completed and filled out at what time?

™ That was completed the day before.

GT The day before the auditors?

™ Before the audit but I'd wrote the 29"" ‘cos I'd done it after I'd done all

the banking and everything because obviously my banking goes off at

quarter past 4 so I wasn't, I was waiting to find out at the end of the day

what my losses were, wrote out the cheque wrote it for the 29" ‘cos I

Gs01s Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
Hocoo0000002

.
Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL

Record of Taped Interview ~ Continued

“Tape counter I Person TEXT
times speaking
— [new it couldn't be banked until the 29", Se
8.33 GT And why was it you wrote out the £9,500?

™ Because I knew both offices were losing money and I thought right if I
go over the top that’s all the money I had in my bank so I thought well if
I give you every penny I've got which is what you want anyhow then
when I do my end of trading on the Wednesday the following week it will
show so many thousands in credit and then at least I can do it centrally
and I've got a few thousand to play with while you lot investigate

9.58 Gl So on the 29" 28" evening of the 28" then that wasn't the trading
statement evening?

™ No.

GT So can I ask why on that particular evening then you would have written
the cheque out?

TM ‘Cos it's end of week.

GT Right so what happened the previous end of week on the 21°?

T™ I was alright.

GT You were alright?

T™M No Yetminster would have been down for a little while on its funds but I
phoned up... on my Yetminster computer I am supposed to be able to
order stock. I'm supposed to be able to order bar codes to rem money
out from Yetminster to Chetnole. That was never set up I could not
order those bar codes so I phoned the stock office I said “I cannot order
the bar codes that I need to rem out from one office to the other to put
money in” so they said “well we need to talk to the Contracts Manager”

I so I said “well in the meantime what would you like me to do I cannot go
I to Chetnole there's no point me going to Chetnole with an empty case is

6015 Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
HoOcoo000002

13
coo

Reyal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview ~ Continued

Tape counter {Person TEXT
times speaking

there?" and they said “we can send you some out but it would take a
week or so” and I said “and what would you like me to do in the thing?”
so they said “you'll have to do anything you can to take money out” so
what I had to do and whether it's, and that's why Catherine has probably
told you a statement that I asked her to cover £2,000 because I had to
take money out of Yetminster take it to Chetnole but I couldn't rem it
out of Yetminster so every time I had to cover it as though it was in
Yetminster although I'd used it in Chetnole because I had no option
because I had no bar codes to do the rem in and they were aware of it.

GT But as, if we said as a joint package though obviously if you took 2,000

from Chetnole and give it Yetminster or you took 2,000 from Yetminster

and gave it to Chetnole, transactions going through, correct me if t’m

wrong but joined together then they should balance even if you'd

borrowed from Paul to give to Peter or whatever you know you've taken

2,000 from Chetnole to give to Yetminster.

™ Yeah but what I'm saying is when I do my end of week I only do end of

week on Yetminster so that would have shown a down do you see what I

mean.
44.47 GT Ok and the surplus would be in Chetnole?
™ And the surplus should have been in Chetnole and that’s why I said to

Catherine and I'll be perfectly honest I've taken £2,000 out of Yetminster
to put into Chetnole but I can’t rem it out because I still haven't got my
bar codes and to this day as far as I am aware that is still blocked for me
to order them bar codes.

GT Right so when you say about Catherine what did you say to Catherine

then or explain to Catherine that you need?

™

I explained that I couldn't, I have no bar codes I couldn't rem money out

68035 Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
HoOcoo000002

Re

Royal Mail Group.
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

Tape counter I Person TEXT
times speaking

so I've taken money out of Yetminster to put into Chetnole but I was told

that I had to still book it as though it was in the office.

GT Right ok and that was £2,000?
12.50 ™ At that time it was £2,000.
GT Ok so what did you ask Catherine to do?
™ To put in £2,000 at the end of the day as in as though it was in

Yetminster's money not.
GT Right so for example if there was 3,000 of £20 notes you asked her to
increase it by 2,000 to make it 5,000?

T™ Well however she done it.
GT Yeah to increase it by 2,000 whatever?
™ Yeah ‘cos obviously the other one would have been showing up.
GT Ok and that would have been at what time when was that?
T™ What do you mean what time?
GT Well was it June January?
™ When she was last.
GT When she was last working at the office.
13.33 GT Ok so as you said at that time then you would have taken 2,000 out of

Yetminster and taken it to Chetnole and if you'd balanced Yetminster you
would have had a shortage in Yetminster but the surplus should have
been at Chetnole?

™ Yeah.

GT Now obviously when the auditors turned up and they done both offices

obviously the shortage came in at.

™ (indistinct)
GT I Or just short of, yeah just short of 12,000. You'd written out a cheque
I for 9,500.

68015, Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
Hocoo000002

\S_
a
Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

Tape counter Person TEXT
times Ki

mm.
GT On the night of the balance on the 28" but this cheque hadn't been

entered onto the Horizon system had it?

™ No.
GT Why did you not enter it onto the Horizon system then?
™ I ‘Cos I just told you I'd already done all my work done my end of week,

realised that the office was throwing up losses again which were, it
seems to do ‘cos I, your computer system does it’s own thing so I wrote
out the cheque. Once I've already done the end of week you can’t go
back in and do it ‘cos that looks stupid so first thing in the morning that
is the first thing to do but obviously I've never go to that stage because

your auditors were there.

GT Ok.
™ Which I knew they were due anyhow.
14.42 GT In what respect?
™ I I knew they were going to be there either that week or the following
week.
GT Well why would that be?

™ Because although Post Office Limited say the audits are random, they

I are about as random as a Monday coming once a week because every
year around the same tirne I have an audit.

GT Well I put it to you now that you have no idea that there was going to be
an audit on that day of the week and do you know why? Have we met

before today?

™ No.
15.14 GT Have I ever been to your office?
™ No.

so15 Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
Hocoo000002

Ie
Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

Tope counter wim I TEXT
GT No I requested that audit to take place at your office.
™ That's ok.
GT I So that's how, it was nothing about it being a random audit or anything

it was a special request audit by myself.

™ I Well! can only tell you what they said and they said “oh they're all done
random”.
GT They are done random unless there's considered to be a problem at a

particular branch and if there’s considered to be a problem at a
particular branch which is identified by cash declarations, we have ONCH
management systems which obviously when you put your ONCH data in
etc it does an automatic ordering system and it obviously would send
you cash if you needed it etc etc. Now obviously if those show large
discrepancies up or down or whatever obviously it flags up and then it
causes a concern at a particular branch and I can tell you that the audit
was ordered specially by myself. Now in respect of obviously the
auditors turning up and I know you mentioned that you were locked in a
room with 2 auditors, what do you mean by locked in a room do you

mean in the secure area of the Post Office?

™ mm.

GT Where you actually serve customers. Ok so was the shop closed at that
time?

™ No.

GT Right so you had customers coming into the office in the open you

weren't actually locked in a room away from the public if you like?

™ No I had all the public staring at me which wasn't nice.
16.36 GT I Right ok whilst you monitored the audit taking place?
™ I Well apparently I wasn't allowed to leave the room.

65015 Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
Hocoo000002

iL

Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

‘Tape counter Person TEXT
__times speaking

GT Yeah ‘cos you had to monitor the auditors taking place?

™ Yes.

GT , Ok well obviously what the audit report says is that after arrival I think
your daughter was there and you'd gone to the Cash & Carry just to sort
of go for a shorter version and subsequently you arrived about 9.15,
they advised you that they were here to perform an audit and it says
before we commenced our checks Miss. Merritt offered me a cheque for
£9,500.00 explaining she'd removed cash to the value the previous
evening after she declared her cash on the Horizon system?

™ "No she didn’t offer it she said in the basket which is where all my end of
day stuff is, is a cheque for 9,500.00.

GT It says the cheque was with her outstanding daily documents.

™ I In the basket so it's not ‘I offered it’.

GT She also said “she meant to put the cheque through the system the
evening before but hadn’t done so and was intending to process it in the
morning”. When asked whether it was needed for bills for the retail
business she said “it was for something personal at home and nothing to
do with the shop” is that not correct or?

47.45 ™ ‘That's what I said but as I say I would have said the man was made of
cheese on the moon at that time.

GT But why would you need to, why would you need to if you could say to
them, if you could say to them that you balanced the night before?

™ Because nobody ever believes you, nobody believes you.

GT So why not tell the truth, why tell a story about taking the money home?

™ _ Yeah what happened last time I told the truth I said there was £2,000
that something happened and I ended up with a £4,000 bill so did you

really want me to say “oh good I'll tell them exactly what happened and

65015 Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
HOCO0000002
1S.

Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

Tape counter
times

18.55

19.37

65015

Person TEXT
speaking

then they'll make it an £18,000 bill"?

GT Well if you told them exactly what happened Tracey we might not be sat
here today thinking that you'd stolen the money?

™ Because nobody believes you nobody believes you.

GT Well I don’t believe you at the moment either.

T™ That's fine.

GT Are you familiar with doing daily cash declarations?

™ Yes.

GT Right ok is it always yourself that does daily cash declarations?

™ No.

GT So does everyone do daily cash declarations?

™ Yes.

GT Have you ever instructed any of your staff to inflate the daily cash
declarations?

™ No except when I know that I've taken money for Chetnole.

GT So on the one occasion with what was her name?

T™ Catherine.

GT Catherine when you took £2,000 you asked Catherine to increase it by
£2,000?

™ And I've asked Lisa to do it after that, the week after because obviously I
still hadn't got my bar codes.

GT Right well the document that Mike's just popped in front of you there is

called ‘an Event log balancing’ that I asked the auditor to take out on the
day and it shows all of the cash declarations between the 1 August
2011 and the 29" September 2011. As an example at the top the first
one looking down it says ‘AA stock unit LLPOO2’ which I take to be Lisa,

It says 1° August 2014 17.29 declaration completed cash declaration

Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
HOcoo000002

i
Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

Tape counter Person TEXT
times speaking

total £16,367.11 and then undermeath it says ‘variance check
discrepancy for that stock unit of £2,883.60p' so what I assume here is
that Lisa has put the cash figures in for the 16,000 she’s hit the variance
button and it tells her that there’s £2,883.60 discrepancy. Subsequently
the next day it looks like the same log on code LLP 17.27 this time

declaration 24,166.90p and a discrepancy of £26.12 and it goes on

£28.04, £55.43, amounts that we would you know could be a genuine
error and you expect to possibly see in an office when the declarations
done. I'd like you to go down to the 10" August where at LLP’s log on
code at 17.27 we have a variance check discrepancy having put in the
total cash of 4987.35 a discrepancy of £11,343.14. Now I take it that
that’s Lisa’s log on code, can you recall whether that was a discrepancy
that you recall being such a large ammount out or would it be one that
Lisa would have possibly done?

T™ No I can tell you exactly what happened that time. I'd taken money off
the (indistinct), I took the money, I put it in the safe in the bag at the
back of the safe, Lisa worked the Post Office she worked with the money
that was in the Post Office at the end of the day when she said “Mum
there’s a hell of a discrepancy here what's gone on” I said “did you
include the bag that's in the back of the safe?” opened the bag and hey
presto she hadn't included it so then when she put that in it came up to

whatever it came up to.

22.18 GT So within the space of a moment a £12,000 increase and a discrepancy
of £3.14p.
™ Yeah ‘cos there was £12,000 roughly in the bag so it came up with

£3.00 whatever discrepancy which I can live with.

22.41 I GT I've got a print out here which obviously shows all your rems arriving,

65015 Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002

HOcoo0000002
20
a
Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued
“Tape counter I Person TEXT
times speaking
this particular document here shows all the cash entered and then over
I the far side here this is the total cash which would agree with those and

these are the rems that come in. If we look across.

MR What's rems?

GT Remittances Mike it's money that comes into the branch if you're, to
operate you, if you declare that you've only got £2,000 and it knows that
tomorrow you're going to pay out £5,000 then the Post Office will

automatically send you a remittance.

23.20 TM was informed the last amount that came in was £6,000 on the 9"

I August which does not tie up with the £12,000 that came in with the

rem man when this discrepancy was put into the computer to which she

replied:-

23.37 I TM Well there was a bag of money I can't, I'm not going to lie to you I can’t
remember exactly what was in the bag at this time because it was
weeks ago.

GT Well I think you are lying to me Tracey because the reason I think you're

lying to me is I don’t think there was a bag of money I think there was a
discrepancy of around the £12,000 mark weeks before the auditors
turned up, I think you're clutching at straws now and you've come up
with the money being in the back of the safe.

™ I'm not clutching at straws ‘cos I've got nothing to clutch on.

GT I When we've got evidence to show you that no money was in the safe

I and I think you've inflated the cash there at that time. That's the first

one on the 10", if you look into the, if you move forward to the 12"

I August and at, we have the log on code now of CSHO02 which I believe.

TM ' Yeah Catherine.

65015 Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
HoOcoo000002

2)
=“

Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

“Tape counter [Person cree —
times speaking
GT coal To be Catherine your holiday relief.
™ mm.
24.33 GT She's declared cash of £1,037.37p at 17.16 and done a variance

discrepancy which a bit like your daughter now has found another
€11,852.46p so I take it there was another bag of cash at the back of
the safe was there?

™ I don’t know I wasn't there was I. I’m not being funny I was on holiday.
! can’t answer that one.

GT Although you weren't there is it not true that you asked Catherine to
inflate your cash by £12,000 ‘cos it was missing?

™ No.

GT So when I contact Catherine and ask her about this what do you think
she’s going to tell me?

25.09 ™ I don’t know what she’s going to tell you.

GT I think she’s going to tell me that the reason I called a special audit was
because we were advised that you had money missing at your Post
Office and if we did an audit there we would find cash missing which is
what we found and the reason we did that was because we had
information passed to us to say ‘I was asked to inflate by £12,000 I
wasn't prepared to do that. I did it one night and I said I wasn't going to
do that again” so I think you're telling us a complete pack of lies Tracey.
™ She was only there one night anyhow, she was only there one night so
why would she have been asked to do it twice.

GT Ok so on the 12" and then on the 13" we have a declaration of
£1,771.00 of CSHOO2 so if you didn’t know her log on code and

password she must have been there.

™ Alright well I'm sorry I can’t remember.

015 Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
HoOcoo000002

Qe

Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

Tape counter I Person TEXT
times speaking
7 GT And she does £11,951.09 so she’s actually balanced quite close she’s

within about £1 of her balance for that day but she’s not prepared to

inflate it by the £12,000 you've asked her to is she?

™ Don’t know she never spoke to me about it.

GT No ‘cos she spoke to us.

T™ That's fine.

GT Did you not ask her to inflate it by £12,000 then?

™ No not by 12,000 no.

GT Right so it's going to be her word against yours that she’s lying and she’s

come to us and yet low and behold when we call an audit team in we
find it to be around about £12,000 missing some 4, 5, weeks after the
incident and yet you then now claim that you're in the Post Office in a
locked room which is actually the Post Office secure area open to the
public and low and behold we find that money to be missing and you
then tell the auditors that this cheque that you've written out is in
respect of the night before when you've used money for personal money
I put that to you and you say you've made it up a story, I think the whole
thing is a story because you've probably got financial difficulties.

™ I have not got financial difficulties.

26.57 GT You've probably been using the Post Office money then for whatever
means whether it’s for through desperation or greed then if you don’t
have money that you've used the Post Office money and I think that
obviously that we want to obviously, I've spoken to Mike prior to today

about obviously not obtaining copies of your bank statements etc.

™ Ive got them here I've got nothing to hide.
GT Ok what we'd like to do is.
I ™ I work 7 days a week if I need money I get off my backside and work.

65015 Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
HoOco0000002

23

Reyal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

‘Tape counter
‘times

Person
speaking

TEXT

27.47

Gs015,

GT
™

GT
{

™

GT

™

I've got no reason to take money from the Post Office but I will tell you
while we're on tape and this is just one incident and I know you're going
to say it's not relevant to this, this is just one, that's a letter that I never
even asked for that the lady's done ok.

Ok.

Because there are issues with your computers and I know the Post
Office are not going to admit it but there is.

Ok this letter that's been passed I'll read out it says ‘The Old Parsonage,
Chetnole, (indistinct) Dorset 4" November 2011. To Whom it May
Concern. On Wednesday morning in the recent past I went to the Post
Office session held in Chetnole Village Hall to post a package. Tracey
entered the details onto the computer system but the system froze and
would not process details. When possible she tried again but it did not
process the request. I went to have a coffee the Post Office session is
held at the same time as the weekly coffee morning in the village hall
and Tracey later came up to give me the receipt for the package. The
system had issued her with multiple receipts which she had in her hand
at the time’ and that’s signed by someone called Jenny Shepherd.
Because what happens is you put it in once and suddenly it’s registered
that you've done the same transaction 6 times. Now I'm sorry and it
doesn’t come up with the receipt saying ‘duplicate’ so it’s not like I'm
pressing receipt receipt receipt receipt receipt do you see what I mean.
So it couldn't be that it froze and that you entered it again to try and
unfroze it and it entered it again to try and unfroze it and entered it
again to unfroze it then?

No no and I'd already phoned the helpline to say I was having major

problems with that computer that day and I've had major problem with

Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
Hocoo000002

Be
Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL

Record of Taped Interview - Continued

Tape counter I Person TEXT
times speaking

I that computer since I've opened at Chetnole.

29.00 GT Do you think that it is only your two computers at Chetnole and
Yetminster that there is a problem with the Post Office then given that
we have I don't know 17,000 Post Offices operating on the same
computer system?

™ No I don't, I'm sorry no I don’t ‘cos there’s 11,500 of us that are all

having problems.

34.48 GT Let's focus back to your holiday relief.
™ Yeah.
GT Why would she, if she didn’t believe or know.
™ { can't answer for her can I, I'm not being rude but I can't.
GT But she’s prepared to do a witness statement to stand up in Court to

give evidence to say you've told her to inflate the cash ‘cos the monies

missing.
™ That's fine I can’t answer for her.
35.10 TM said she does not live above her means.
35.15 When asked if she has copies of her Nat West statements between May

and September, TM said she only has her last statement as she never

has any money in her personal account and therefore shreds her

statements.
35.33 LA So how could you write a cheque if you haven't got no more in there?
35.29 ™ Because I was putting the money from that account and that account

and that account and that account into it and as you can check.

} GT So what and you've transferred?

eso15 Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
HOcoo000002

2g
ap ° a
Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

“Tape cote Person eqn

times speaking

"TM I've borrowed 3,500 off my partner's Mum, I've taken every penny out of

I my business account, I've taken every penny out of my other business
j account and I've, and my wages that were due that day to write the
I cheque.
GT But at the time when you wrote the cheque then on the 28", dated the

29" there wasn't £9,500 in your account?

™ There would have been on that day.
36.18 I GT Ok those cheques have both been not honoured can you explain why
I that is?
™ That one was always dubious and I told you that was dubious because

I fd used some of the money to transfer to there and it was whether the
shop earned enough to put it in there but this one the Nat West which
you need me to say for the tape, he said to me I will be taking this
cheque now and going to the nearest Post Office and banking it today
will it clear and I said yes because at that point it would have cleared. 3
4 weeks later or whenever you banked it, I think it was about 3 weeks 3
3, Ive had direct debits coming out, I'm not being rude I had direct debits
that missed by about £20 or £30 going through because I had direct
debits going through and I hadn't got the cash in at that time but had he
banked it when he said or if I had banked it when he said, it would have
cleared without a problem that one I didn’t even expect him to ask for,
he said to me ‘I'm not leaving this office unless you give me a cheque’ so
I wrote out cheque and that was on a wing and a prayer and that at the
moment if you put that in again which I know probably you can’t do but
it wouldn’t because now my rent for £2,000 has come out of that

account for my shop and for the premises.

Gs01s Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
Hocoo000002

=
Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL ~ CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued
“Tape counter I Person I : TXT
times speaking
38.20 : — TM said she is probably in a position today to repay the missing money

but said “I haven't taken the money’ but would put herself in debt to do

; it.

38.33 GT So as of today you would be in a position to supply us with a

replacement cheque for £9,500?

I TM I could yeah.
GT That would be honoured?
T™ {t would be honoured if you bank it.
GT Well again I would have to post it and send it but you would know that

£9,500 is coming out of that bank account as you probably would have
at that time.

™ Yeah but then { can’t guarantee you. ('m not being funny some of my
direct debits and I'm not going to lie are once every 6 months once ina
year I can’t guarantee when they're here like my direct line for my car
rescue I couldn't tell you what month it hits but if it hits but at the

moment I've got it.

GT Is it easier to supply cash?
™ Weil is the bank going to let me have cash for that amount?
39.15 TM said it would be easier if they told her what bank account they were

to take it from and she could transfer the money.

39.27 LA You're saying this cheque that’s written out that’s dated 29" of the 9"
I where it's been altered it looks like a 5 underneath but you said that’s a
I mistake yeah?
I TM Even the auditor questioned me at that time and I've got my cheque

65015, Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002
HoOco0000002

Royal Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued

Tape counter { Person TEXT
times speaking

book here you can check that I haven't done them out of sync, ok I didn’t
do it, alright I'm human I'm sorry I sometimes write, if you look on what
I've just done there that one’s a bit dodgy because sometimes my brain

says it's got to be this number and my hand writes something different.

MR Can you Tracey just explain whether that was already changed when the
auditor?
T™ It was changed before the auditor came.
41.00 The Officers inspect TM's cheque book stubs.
42.30 GT Right so this cheque book stub starts on the 9"" of the 12" 09 and it

goes through and we've got various things in there ‘Dave loan 540 Dave
loan 570 then we go into February 2010 still Dave's loan, February then
we go into April 2010, May 2010, May 2010, June 2010, June 2010.
We then have 29" of the 4'" but we don't have a year and then the next
one we've got the 6" of the 9"" 41 Sarah birthday £20 on cheque 464

so has that come out of the Nat West account then?

™ mm.

GT On the 6" of the 9".

TM I don’t know whether she’s banked it, it’s my niece's birthday.
43.19 GT Right and then we got 465 blank, 466 blank, 467 blank.

™ Look I'm not being funny I have 3 cheque books and when I write a

cheque I just pick up, they're all in my handbag I just pick up any but 6"
of the 10" that’s got last years and it's got this years in it. Now maybe
!'m wrong for not using the cheque books in synchronisation but hey.

43.55 LA But if we get the other statements following on from this up until when

you wrote the cheques out we'll see the transfers going in and the cash

63015 Version 8 07/09
HOCO0000002

HoOcoo0000002
Royat Mail Group
ROYAL MAIL - CONFIDENTIAL
Record of Taped Interview - Continued
“pe counter I Person J “TEXT a
times speaking
a should be there more or less until debits of. —_
GT Yeah we'll see it within 20 quid ‘cos what dates are those up to 21"
September?
LA 6" of the, 19" August to the 20" September.
44.09 GT Right so the ones that, you're October ones are going to show all of the.
™ Obviously I haven't got that yet have I they send you them once a month
don’t they, they're not due yet and they show you loads of money going
in cash and cheques and God knows what.

Master tape seal signed on number 073467

Interview terminated at 14.02

Gso15, Version 8 07/09