POL00040401
POL00040401
13" February 2002
Reference: Horizon Faults and Shortcomings
Dear Mr Chester
Having given your recent request for the office total to be reset to zero after each weeks’
balance much consideration, my concerns are as follows.
Since I have been writing to you and your predecessors about my concerns over the Horizon
System I have always maintained the position that I am unable to accept any liabilities shown
by the system until such time as I am able to access the data to check it, I refer you to my letter
dated 18" July 2001 where I clearly state my position and suggest a way in which this could be
done, without any compromise to the security of the data.
However I am concerned on two points over your recent request about zeroing the system
weekly by taking money out or putting money in. Firstly it is the liability I am accepting by
default in agreeing to put money in if the system shows short, while there is no report writer
package to assist me track transactions. Secondly is the concern that the system does not
actually log what the weeks’ shortage or over was or how it was arrived at anywhere on the
documentation we print out and keep. Although at one point the information does appear on
the screen, that information is lost the moment we ‘roll over’. At least with the current way we
are finishing our balance we can track from week to week our position and know where the
office stands at any one time.
Related to the above concerns is the matter of error notices which at present are almost
impossible to process as we are unable to retrieve the data about the transactions. Although
some data is still accessible up to 30 days after the transaction most error notices are for
transactions at least 10 weeks ago. Nowadays we are having to refer these error notices back to
Chesterfield for more supporting documentation, but it would be so much easier and quicker to
access the data at our office to help us track what had happened.
Referring back to your original request, I will gladly conform to your requirement but I must
make it clear that my position with regard to Horizon derived figures has not and will not
change until such time as I have access to the data and a report writer package with adequate
training is provided.
Yours sincerely
Alan Bates — Subpostmaster Craig-y-don Post Office
Copies to: Mr D Foster, Gwynedd Branch Secretary National Federation of Subpostmasters
Mr C Baker, General Secretary National Federation of Subpostmasters