Post Office Mediation Scheme
Application For Mediation
Case Questionnaire Responses
Applicant: Mr Thomas, M029
Advisor: Emma Porter, Aver
December 2013
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Table of Contents
Section Page
I Introduction I
A __ INSTRUCTIONS 1
B BACKGROUND 1
THE QUESTIONS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUESTED 2
D THE IMPACT AND SUB-POSTMASTER'S OBJECTIVES 3
2. Chronology 4
A __ INTRODUCTION 4
B_ PERIOD 9 JUNE 1994 To 13 OCTOBER 2005 4
C PERIOD FROM 13 OCTOBER 2005 ONWARDS 6
3. The Ten Questions 7
A INTRODUCTION 7
I WHAT IS THE MAIN ISSUE OR ISSUES YOU WISH US TO CONSIDER THAT RELATE TO HORIZON OR ITS
ASSOCIATED PROCESSES? 7
2. WHEN DID THE INCIDENTS RELATING TO THE MAIN ISSUE OR ISSUES OCCUR? 12
3 WHAT PRIOR CONTACT HAVE YOU HAD WITH THE POST OFFICE IN REGARD TO THE INCIDENTS/ISSUES
YOU ARE NOW REPORTING? 14
4 HOW WAS THE ISSUE OR ISSUES RESOLVED AT THE TIME THEY OCCURRED? 14
5 WHATS THE MONETARY VALUE OF THE ISSUE OR ISSUES YOU ARE NOW REPORTING? 15
6 WERE YOU SUBJECT OF EITHER CIVIL RECOVERY ACTION OR CRIMINAL PROSECUTION REGARDING THE
MAIN ISSUE OR ISSUES YOU ARE NOW REPORTING? 15
7 HOWWERE THESE ACTIONS AGAINST YOU (IF ANY) RESOLVED? 15
8 — WHAT IS YOUR EXPLANATION FOR THE EVENTS FORMING THE MAIN ISSUE OR ISSUES YOU ARE NOW
REPORTING? 16
9 DID YOU REQUEST ASSISTANCE FROM THE POST OFFICE REGARDING THE ISSUE OR ISSUES YOU ARE NOW
REPORTING? 16
10 WHAT ASSISTANCE, IF ANY, WAS PROVIDED? 7
4 Additional Information 18
A INTRODUCTION I8
B INFORMATION 18
c OTHER 21
5 The Impact and Sub-postmaster’s Objectives 22
A INTRODUCTION 22
B CONCLUSION 23
Appendix I: Documentation Relied Upon
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Introducti
A Instructions
Ll I have been asked to assist Mr Hughie Noel Thomas (“Mr Thomas”), a former
Sub-postmaster, in his application for the Mediation Scheme established by the
Post Office for the Sub-postmasters.
1.2 lam instructed by Mr Thomas, in accordance with the engagement letter dated
18 October 2013 which sets out the services including phase I of the Scheme as
set out below.
13 The role of the advisor in phase I investigation stage is to:
Review the case
I.
2. Establish the Sub-postmaster’s objectives;
3. Assist in the presentation the case in a logical manner;
4. Support the case with such evidence, as available;
5. Ensure the case is accurately presented; and
6. Assist with responding to queries.
14 I have not carried out any audit procedures on any of the organisations named
in this document, and no part of my work or this document is to be construed
as such.
15 This document as been prepared for the purposes of Mr Thomas as part of his
application to be included in the Mediation Scheme and must not be used for
any other purpose, copied or shown to any other person or entity not directly
involved in the case without my prior written consent.
B Background
1.6 Prior to commencing his role as Sub-postmaster, Mr Thomas had been
employed by the Bodorgan Post Office as a Part Time Postman, becoming a Full
Time Postman in Bangor in 1969. In 1974 Mr Thomas took over the family
business and in 1976 he started running the Village PO from where he retired as
a Post Master in 1991.
1.7 Mr Thomas and his wife had purchased Gaerwen Post Office in May 1981 which
was operated by his wife until 1994. After retiring as a Post Master in 1991 Mr
Thomas assi is wife at the Gaerwen Post Office undertaking PO Counter
work andi. GRO I Mr Thomas formally became the Sub-
postmaster in 1994.
18 Mr Thomas commenced his role as Sub-postmaster at the Gaerwen branch
(FAD Code 1606042) on 9 June 1994.
Lo As a consequence of events, as set out in the detailed Chronology in Section 2
of this document, Mr Thomas was suspended from his Sub-postmaster’s role on
13 October 2005 and was not re-instated.
1.10 The Post Office Limited sought to prosecute Mr Thomas and Mr Thomas pled
guilty to False Accounting on 29 September 2006 and was sentenced in
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December 2006 to 9 months of which he served 13 weeks in prison and was
thereafter tagged. Following this Mr Thomas was subject to a POCA'
application under which he paid approximately £19,000.
Lil Mr Thomas had to sell both the Post Office branch and his house to raise funds,
however on 24 January 2008 Mr Thomas petitioned for his own bankruptcy and
was declared bankrupt, with assets of approximately £500 and liabilities of
£99,537.
112 A Bankruptcy Restriction Oder was granted for 8 years at a hearing on 19
March 2009 on the basis of the False Accounting conviction.
c The Questions and Additional Information Requested
1.13 The Sub-postmasters have been asked to respond to ten specific questions, in
addition to which Mr Thomas has been asked to provide some additional
documentation and explanations by Second Sight.
1.14 The questions, as set out below are dealt with in Section 3 and, where relevant,
supported by further information and documentation set out in Appendix I:
(i) What is the main issue or issues you wish us to consider that
relate to Horizon or its associated processes?
(ii) When did the incidents relating to the main issue or issues
occur?
(iii) What prior contact have you had with the Post Office in
regard to the incidents/issues that you are now reporting?
(iv) How was the issue or issues resolved at the time they
occurred?
) What is the monetary value of the issue or issues you are
now reporting?
(vi) Were you the subject of either civil recovery action or
criminal prosecution regarding the main issue or issues you
are now reporting?
(vii) How were these actions against you (if any) resolved?
(viii) What is your explanation for the events forming the main
issue or issues you are now reporting?
(ix) Did you request assistance from the Post Office regarding the
issue or issues you are now reporting?
ita) What assistance, if any, was provided?
115s In addition to these questions, further information has been requested by
Second Sight, as detailed below:
' Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
wii)
(viii)
The telephone calls that you made to the Post Office’s
helpline. Can you recall and recount the advice or help that
you received?
The specific areas, products or operational processes where
you assert that you were given inadequate training. If you
know or suspect that you made errors as a consequence of
inadequate training or poor advice, please tell us about that.
The duration of the Training Courses that you attended and
in what way(s) you felt they were deficient (on page 3 of your
Application you mention one and a half days’ training. Was
that the only training you attended?
The 50:50 settlement that you mention on Page 2 of your
Application. Do you have any correspondence on that matter
and, if so, you should send us copies.
The amount of the final shortfall that POL asked you to repay.
Any suspicions you had at the time, or now have, as to where
the missing funds could have gone. Were any specific
products or processes particularly problematical for example?
Whether, and if so when and how, you requested help from
POL in establishing the underlying Root Cause of the shortfall
that was building up.
Please let us know when you signed the contract (with POL)
that contained the clause that held you accountable for the
shortfall (clause 12).
1.16 These matters are specifically dealt with in Section 4.
D The Impact and Sub-postmaster’s Objectives
17 As a consequence of events and issues set out in Sections 2, 3 and 4, Mr
Thomas and his family have suffered both financially and non-financially.
L18 These are set out in Section 5.
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Chronology
A Introduction
2.1 Set out below is a chronology of events based on the documentation supplied by
Mr Thomas.
2.2 The chronology does not every call and event due to the limitation of
information available. The source documents from which the chronology is
derived are included at Appendix I.
B Period 9 June 1994 to 13 October 2005
2.3 This period relates to the period in which Mr Thomas held the post of Sub-
postmaster at the Gaerwen branch.
Dates Event
09/06/94 Commencement of Mr Thomas as Sub-postmaster at the
Gaerwen branch
18/10/00 Horizon system installed?
03/01/01 Horizon off 9.30am
04/01/01 Horizon malfunction 10am
08/01/01 Horizon off
17/01/01 Horizon off 7.30am and again at 5.45pm
20/01/01 Horizon off 12.20pm
25/01/01 Horizon off 7am
14/03/01 Horizon off 15:40
16/05/01 Horizon off twice 1.15pm (H20338009)
25/05/01 Technical helpdesk call (0105250519) — engineer being
sent
29/05/01 Horizon off 7.15am
06/06/01 Frozen screen reported 8.20am — power off and reboot
13/06/01 Frozen screen
14/06/01 Frozen screen
15/06/01 Faulty RCD main replaced (trip switch)
16/06/01 Horizon repair
25/08/01 Horizon No2 froze and rebooted 10am
31/08/01 Horizon rebooted 8.15am
05/09/01 Horizon rebooted after powercut
14/09/01 Horizon Nol not working — rebooted
08/11/01 System off — will not scan pension and allowance book
IS/11/01 Horizon off — reboot
14/12/01 Horizon Nol screen showing mobile sales cards totalling
£3,200 — had to bin — no known reason for this
27/12/01 Problems logging on — I system would not accept new
password ~ had to telephone
25/01/02 Received Horizon repair confirmation 6 months after
work carried out on 16/06/01
12/02/02 Rang helpline re Horizon
27/06/02 Power cut 12.25pm — reboot required
12/07/02 PO alarm went off and Horizon machine making very high
humming sound 12.45pm
14/07/02 Power off Horizon — reboot
13/09/02 Horizon power off 11.10am — reboot
? Installation certificate 18 October 2000
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Dates Event
28/10/02 Giro deposits not cut on Sat 26/10
29/10/02 Giro deposits not cut off £1,830.55 — Horizon showing
£4,051.51 (21 transactions correct amount £1 ,830.55)
13/12/02 Horizon disconnected I2.!0pm also problems with printer
~ called technical helpline (E021213044)
16/12/02 Engineer called re Horizon
17/12/02 Horizon base station unit on main computer changed
03/02/03 Horizon reboot again — not transferring 15.30pm
05/02/03 Lost stock lots of losses on screen total £301.55
04/03/03 One system off Horizon 8.20am
03/04/03 Problem with printer — lost £6.45 spd
28/05/03 Horizon not processing APT error — rang Horizon
16/07/03 Horizon frozen on confirming printing rollover
(E0307160857) called three times
21/07/03 Horizon had not rolled over from week 16 to 17
22/07/03 Horizon No2 reboot
13/08/03 Problem rebooting “New access not accepting”
15/08/03 Horizon failure — reboot
18/08/03 Power cut 6.50am back 7.35am — had to reboot
13/09/03 No2 Horizon reboot
05/10/03 Horizon off — power cut in night
08/10/03 Horizon problem with online server — reboot. Off again
2.15pm and stopped printing during final cash account
(E03 10080263)
09/10/03 Horizon off — rang helpline — reboot (E0310090063 +
0225) Horizon still freezing transfer to online — rebooted
4 times and still the same
10/10/03 Horizon fixed
19/11/03 Printer not working (E031 2100198 and E0312100928)
21/12/03 Horizon main computer offline (approx. 7.37am)
2004 and 2005 Mr Thomas’ notes and logs were uplifted by the PO
therefore he is unable to complete the chronology —
however per Mr Thomas similar issues continued
18/11/04 to 26/11/04 I In October 2005, the Audit team reviewed 70 £nil value
transactions on the online banking system
16/02/05 Call to technical helpline re difference of remming cheques —
technical helpline referred call to business helpline
23/04/05 Gateway counter message to call horizon for instruction —
told re reboot both counters
18/06/05 Critical event message “bad block” — remotely rebooted
02/07/05 Reboot had been done but could not pass Automated
Payment recovery ~ technical helpline referred call to
business helpline
02/07/05 Business helpline referred call to technical helpline as screen
had frozen — advised reboot
02/07/05 Counter frozen and screen goes to AP recovery screen —
advised to leave off for 5 minutes and reboot but did not
work so advised to re-calibrate the screen
13/07/05 Critical event message “bad block” — remotely rebooted
13/10/05 Card account withdrawals have a zero value - technical
helpline referred call to business helpline
13/10/05 Audit call for password
24 The issues and events highlighted above, where relevant, are set out in more
detail in the sections below.
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c Period from 13 October 2005 onwards
2.5 This period relates to the matters after Mr Thomas was suspended and the key
issues arising thereafter.
Dates Event
13/10/05 Mr Thomas was suspended
18/10/05 Ms Shodes attended branch to rem out all the stock — Mr
Thomas notes that she was having difficulty operating
Horizon
24/10/05 Letter terminating Mr Thomas’ contract with the Post
Office
25/11/05 Call notifying Mr Thomas that the Post Office wanted to
re-open the branch
29/11/05 Ms Shodes returned to reboot Horizon and noted to Mr
Thomas that she was having difficulty. She apparently
called Horizon and her manager Mr Hughes and that
Horizon later went out to check the system.
14/12/05 Phone call from Mr Hughes and a letter from Romac. Mr
Hughes stated Horizon boxes etc would be exchanged,
letter stated removal of all equipment
14/12/05 Two Romac engineers called to survey PO Premises and
stated that the Horizon system would be placed by a
totally new system
19/12/05 Mr Hughes and a PO investigator entered premises and
removed that Horizon system
16/01/06 New system installed
19/01/06 Post Office re-opens
16/06/06 Letter from the Post Office re outstanding deficiency
29/09/06 Mr Thomas pled guilty to False Accounting
24/01/08 Mr Thomas files for his bankruptcy
09/01/09 Papers served re Bankruptcy Restriction Order, granted
March 2009
2.6 The issues and events highlighted above, where relevant, are set out in more
detail in the sections below.
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he Ten Questio
A Introduction
3.1 The “case questionnaire and guidance notes” document sets out the ten core
questions to be responded to in the Sub-postmaster’s mediation application.
3.2 Information available is limited in relation to Mr Thomas. The main issue
contributing to this is that all of the documentation at the branch was uplifted at
the time of the October 2005 audit, including a number of personal papers
belonging to Mr Thomas which have never been returned. Amongst these
documents was a calendar maintained by Mr Thomas on which he noted the
differences he was experiencing and also the transaction reports and other
documentation which would ordinarily be maintained by the Sub-postmaster.
3.3 The information is also limited as there is not a complete set of telephone logs
to the business and technical helplines. Only summary extracts for certain
periods are available for the technical helpline in the witness statements of
POL/Horizon staff and no detail is available from the business helpline.
3.4 It is noted that there is a substantial cross over of matters between these
questions creating an element of repetition. Whilst attempts have been made to
minimise this, some repetition is inevitable.
L What is the main issue or issues you wish us to consider that
relate to Horizon or its associated processes?
3.5 The issues highlighted by Mr Thomas have been reviewed against the thematic
issues set out by Second Sight and analysed out below.
Training and Support including the Helpline and Audit
3.6 As the telephone logs are not available for the whole of the period in question,
the assessment on the training and support is limited.
3.7 Mr Thomas’ experience of the Post Office staff purportedly there to assist was
that their knowledge was poor.
3.8 Mr Thomas notes that he was initially (in 1994) provided with one and a half
days training at the Victoria Hotel, Llanberis and received help with his first
Cash Account and two Wednesday visits.
39 The remaining training and support was the provision of Manuals, which are
difficult to interpret (the copy provided to Mr Thomas was even out of order)
and a helpline which Mr Thomas found was insufficient. From Mr Thomas’
recollection, he estimates that he contacted the helplines approximately once
per week since the Horizon system was installed. Without the full telephone
logs, it is not possible to verify this.
3.10 The Horizon system was installed in 2000 but Mr Thomas did not receive
training immediately prior to or after its installation, instead it was some 6
months prior to installation when Mr Thomas received training. This is not
regarded as adequate and appears to have substantially contributed to the
difficulties and differences suffered by Mr Thomas.
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Limitations in the Transaction Audit Trail available fo Sub-postmasters
3.11
3.12
There was no facility available whereby Mr Thomas could access the audit trail
of transaction data in order to investigate how discrepancies had taken place.
Further, the Post Office removed everything from the branch which meant that
Mr Thomas did not have access to anything, other than in the disclosure
process by the Post Office.
The Chronology in Section 2 of this Application demonstrate on-going hardware
issues including power cuts, having to reboot on several occasion and freezing
screen as well as occasional printer issues and rollover issues.
Without the necessary training, access to data and support, Mr Thomas was
unlikely to be able to establish if any of these impacted on the recording of data
on the Horizon system.
The contract between the Post Office and Sub-postmasters
3.15
3.16
3.17
Mr Thomas has indicated that he did not recall ever being provided with a
signed copy of the contract.
Mr Thomas has noted that a revised contract was issued in 2003/04 but does
not recall if he ever had a copy. If he ever had a copy it would have been with
the documentation removed from the branch office.
Mr Thomas cannot recall if he ever signed a copy. It would be of assistance if
the Post Office could supply a signed copy.
Transaction anomalies following telecommunications or power failures
3.18
3.19
3.20
As noted above, the Chronology in Section 2 of this Application demonstrate
on-going hardware issues including power cuts, and transfer failures.
Without the necessary training, access to data and support, Mr Thomas was
unlikely to be able to establish if any of these impacted on the recording of data
on the Horizon system.
Further, it is unclear whether the Post Office have undertaken such
investigations. If so, it would assist if the results from such investigations could
be provided.
Transaction anomalies associated with Bank/Giro/Cheques
3.21
3.22
Mr Thomas has noted that on a number of occasions a customer would
undertake card withdrawals where the system showed a fnil value but the
customer was provided with the cash they had requested.
This was noted by Mr Thomas that at the audit in October 2005 this was stated
by him as a potential reason for the differences.
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3.23
3.24
3.25
3.26
3.27
The statement of Ms Matthews? 70 £nil value transactions were reviewed in
relation to the 8 day period 18 November 2004 to 26 November 2004 and
analysed as follows:
0) 59 balance only enquiries
(ii) 4 pin number changes
(iii) 4 incorrect pin entries
(iv) 3 declined due to system being nationally offline
There is no information on what Mr Thomas’ screen showed in relation to the
incorrect pin entries and offline transactions and specifically whether he was
warned not to pay the funds.
It is also noted that the 8 day period is a very small sample. Further analysis on
the rest of the period from 2000 to 2005 would assist in assessing if this is
representative of the online banking withdrawals.
In addition to this there appears to have been an issue with cheques being
doubled up on the system. An additional adjustment was made to the amount
being claimed by the Post Office on the basis that there had been a doubling up
of cheques in October 2005.
Prior to this, on 29/10/02, Mr Thomas’ chronology notes that there was an issue
on Horizon where Giro deposits were not cut off and amounted to £1,830.55
whilst Horizon showed £4,051.51 (21 transactions correct amount was
£1,830.55).
Transaction anomalies associated with stamps or Postage Labels or Phone
Cards
3.28
Included in the Chronology, there is an indication that some difficulty was
experienced with stamps and postage labels, however without further
information it is not possible to further assess anomalies in this area.
Hardware Issues
3.29
3.30
From the information available it would appear that Mr Thomas has suffered a
number of hardware issues. Without the information regarding the timing of
differences, it is not possible to assess whether there is any correlation between
the differences and the hardware issues.
Mr Thomas did maintain notes on the issues, but only has notes relating to
2001-2003 as other documentation had been uplifted by the Post Office.
However, the Post Office witness statements show that between April 2005 and
October 2005 hardware issues did continue:
Dates Event
18/10/00 Horizon system installed
03/01/01 Horizon off 9.30am
04/01/01 Horizon malfunction 10am
> Witness Statement of Diane Sarah Matthews dated 23 March 2006, page3
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08/01/01 Horizon off
T7/O1701 Horizon off 7.30am and again at 5.45pm
20/01/01 Horizon off 12.20pm
25/01/01 Horizon off 7am
14/03/01 Horizon off 15:40
T6/05/01 Horizon off twice 1.15pm (H20338009)
25/05/01 Technical helpdesk call (0105250519) — engineer being
sent
29705701 Horizon off 7.15am
06/06/01 Frozen screen reported 8.20am — power off and reboot
13/06/01 Frozen screen
14/06/01 Frozen screen
15/06/01 Faulty RCD main replaced (trip switch)
T6/06/01 Horizon repair
25/08/01 Horizon No? froze and rebooted 10am
31/08/01 Horizon rebooted 8.15am
05/09/01 Horizon rebooted after powercut
14/09/01 Horizon Nol not working — rebooted
08711701 System off - will not scan pension and allowance book
TS/TI/01 Horizon off - reboot
14/12/01 Horizon Nol screen showing mobile sales cards totalling
£3,200 - had to bin - no known reason for this
T7201 Problems logging on — I system would not accept new
password ~ had to telephone
25/01/02 Received Horizon repair confirmation 6 months after
work carried out on 16/06/01
12/02/02 Rang helpline re Horizon
27106/02 Powercut 12.25pm — reboot required
12/07/02 PO alarm went off and Horizon machine making very high
humming sound 12.45pm
14107702 Power off Horizon - reboot
13/09/02 Horizon power off I1.10am ~ reboot
28/10/02 Giro deposits not cut on Sat 26/10
29/1 0/02 Giro deposits not cut off £1,830.55 — Horizon showing
£4,051.51 (2 transactions correct amount £1,830.55)
13/12/02 Horizon disconnected 12.10pm also problems with printer
= called technical helpline (021213044)
Te 2/02 Engineer called re Horizon
17/12/02 Horizon base station unit on main computer changed
03/02/03 Horizon reboot again — not transferring 15.30pm
05/02/03 Lost stock lots of losses on screen total £301.55
04/03/03 ‘One system off Horizon 8.20am
03/04/03 Problem with printer — lost £6.45 spd
28/05/03 Horizon not processing APT error — rang Horizon
16/07/03 Horizon frozen on confirming printing rollover
(E0307 160857) called three times
21707703 Horizon had not rolled over from week 16 to 17
22/07/03 Horizon No2 reboot
13/08/03 Problem rebooting “New access not accepting”
15/08/03 Horizon failure - reboot
18/08/03 Power cut 6.50am back 7.35am — had to reboot
13/09/03 No? Horizon reboot
05/10/03 Horizon off - power cut in night
08/10/03 Horizon problem with online server — reboot. Off again
2.15pm and stopped printing during final cash account
(E0310080263)
09710703 Horizon off - rang helpline ~ reboot (E0310090063 +
0225) Horizon still freezing transfer to online — rebooted
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Dates Ev
4 times and still the same
10/10/03 Horizon fixed
19/11/03 Printer not working (E0312100198 and E0312100928)
21/12/03 Horizon main computer offline (approx. 7.37am)
2004 and 2005 Mr Thomas’ notes and logs were uplifted by the PO
therefore he is unable to complete the chronology —
however per Mr Thomas similar issues continued
23/04/05 Gateway counter message to call horizon for instruction —
told re reboot both counters
18/06/05 Critical event message “bad block” — remotely rebooted
02/07/05 Reboot had been done but could not apss Automated
Payment recovery — technical helpline referred call to
business helpline
02/0705 Business helpline referred call to technical helpline as screen
had frozen ~ advised reboot
02/07/05 Counter frozen and screen goes to AP recovery screen —
advised to leave off for 5 minutes and reboot but did not
work so advised to re-calibrate the screen
13/07/05 Critical event message “bad block” — remotely rebooted
The information available is restricted to the 2001-2003 information from Mr
Thomas plus a listing* of telephone log calls from the technical helpline covering
calls from 16 February 2005 to 13 October 2005. These show problems
including:
(i) Gateway messages to contact the technical helpline
(i) Screen Freezes
(iii) Critical event notices requiring remote rebooting
However, it appears that Mr Thomas suffered with issues from installation to his
suspension. He cites one example of when the screen started showing zeros
but he could not get a satisfactory explanation for why this may have happened.
Indeed, it is noted that in November and December 2005, as set out in the
Chronology in Section 2 of this Application, issues with the hardware resulting
in a fully new system being installed. Mr Thomas notes* that two Romac
engineers told him that a new system would be installed by Horizon on the
following Monday as the existing equipment was:
(i) Old system
(ii) Wanted updating
(iii) Could not be used by incoming Postmaster
Information relating to the differences being suffered by Mr Thomas would be
helpful to allow a review against the hardware issues that were clearly occurring
and specifically as to the impact of the power cuts and transmission failures.
4 Witness Statement of Andy Paul Dunks dated 6 April 2006, pages 1-2 listing of calls
5 Chronology post suspension prepared and supplied by Mr Thomas
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2 When did the incidents relating to the main issue or issues occur?
3.35 As set out in the chronology in Section 2 of this document issues arose between
2000 and 2005. However, in the period from January 2004 onwards, there is
lack of detailed information regarding those issues.
3.36 The information available shows that there were a significant period of technical
issues arising from frozen screens, power cuts and transfer interruptions over
this period. The impact of these issues cannot be assessed due to the lack of
information.
3.37 There is no information available on how and when the differences built up.
Training and Support including the Helpline and Audit
3.38 The main issues regarding the training and support are highlighted in the
Chronology in section 2 and the comments in the paragraphs 3.6 to 3.10 above.
3.39 These issues cover the whole period in question.
Limitations in the Transaction Audit Trail available to Sub-postmasters
3.40 The Chronology in Section 2 of this Application demonstrate on-going hardware
issues including power cuts, having to reboot on several occasion and freezing
screen as well as occasional printer issues and rollover issues. Mr Thomas’ lack
of training and support lead to his not being able to investigate matters himself.
3.41 At the time of the Audit in October 2005 all documentation was removed from
the branch which, when combined with the lack of access to the transaction
audit trail meant that he was unable to independently review the differences and
why they may have arisen.
3.42 Further, there is no evidence available to show if the post Office looked at the
timing of differences and why those differences had arisen. Information
regarding the detailed investigations undertaken by the Post Office in relation to
the accounting period differences would be useful.
The contract between the Post Office and Sub-postmasters
3.43 Mr Thomas does not recall signing any contracts or whether he was ever
supplied with a copy of the original contract or the revised contract issued in
2003/04.
3.44 Assistance from the Post Office to clarify this and provide a copy of the signed
Contracts would be appreciated.
Transaction anomalies following telecommunications or power failures
3.45 As noted in the Chronology in section 2 of this Application and also in
paragraphs 3.18 to 3.20 above Mr Thomas’ records demonstrate a significant
number of telecommunications issues and power failures in the period January
2001 to December 2003. Beyond this detailed records are not available.
3.46 Mr Thomas is not able to provide detailed breakdown of the differences he was
suffering to assess the impact of these difficulties.
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3.47 It would be of assistance if the Post Office could provide Mr Thomas’ records
for 2004 and 2005 as well as details of the differences and the
telecommunications and power failures reported to the helplines.
Transaction anomalies associated with Bank/Giro/Cheques
3.48 Mr Thomas has noted that on a number of occasions a customer would
undertake card withdrawals where the system showed a énil value but the
customer was provided with the cash they had requested.
3.49 This was noted by Mr Thomas that at the audit in October 2005 this was stated
by him as a potential reason for the differences.
3.50 The statement of Ms Matthews‘ 70 £nil value transactions were reviewed in
relation to the 8 day period 18 November 2004 to 26 November 2004 and
analysed as follows:
(i) 59 balance only enquiries
(ii) 4 pin number changes
(iii) 4 incorrect pin entries
(iv) 3 declined due to system being nationally offline
3.51 There is no information on what Mr Thomas’ screen showed in relation to the
incorrect pin entries and offline transactions and specifically whether he was
warned not to pay the funds.
3.52 It is also noted that the 8 day period is a very small sample. Further analysis on
the rest of the period from 2000 to 2005 would assist in assessing if this is
representative of the online banking withdrawals.
3.53 There is also evidence that on at least 2002 and 2005 Mr Thomas had anomalies
on the cheques being recorded on the Horizon system.
Transaction anomalies associated with stamps or Postage Labels or Phone
Cards
3.54 Information in this area is limited beyond that which is set out in the
Chronology and paragraph 3.28 above.
Hardware Issues
3.55 From the information available it would appear that Mr Thomas has suffered a
number of hardware issues. Without the information regarding the timing of
differences, it is not possible to assess whether there is any correlation between
the differences and the hardware issues.
3.56 The hardware issues, as set out in the Chronology and paragraphs 3.29 to 3.34
above appear to be significant and frequent.
© Witness Statement of Diane Sarah Matthews dated 23 March 2006, page3
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3.57
3.58
3.59
3.60
3.61
3.62
3.63
3.64
3.65
3.66
The information available is restricted to a listing’ of telephone log calls from the
technical helpline covering calls from 16 February 2005 to 13 October 2005.
These show problems including:
(i) Gateway messages to contact the technical helpline
(ii) Screen Freezes
(iii) Critical event notices requiring remote rebooting
It is notable that prior to the new Sub-postmaster commencing in November
2005, the Post Office considered it necessary to replace the whole system at
the Gaerwen branch. Mr Thomas considers that this is indicative of the system
he was using was faulty and therefore could have been the cause of the
differences he was suffering.
What prior contact have you had with the Post Office in regard to
the incidents/issues you are now reporting?
Mr Thomas states that he contacted the Post Office as issues arose.
It appears from the documentation available that some issues became so
frequent that Mr Thomas reported only the most critical issues or where the
system report requested him to contact the helpline.
Further information and telephone logs from the Post Office would assist in the
assessment of the frequency of Mr Thomas’ contact with the Post Office.
How was the issue or issues resolved at the time they occurred?
The issues were never resolved during Mr Thomas’ tenure as is apparent from
the documentation.
The Audit visit in October 2005 appears to have been the only visit. Prior to
this there appears to have been little or no support for Mr Thomas.
Whilst some specific aspects were looked into after the Audit, the consideration
of dismissal letter from the Post Office’ was issued only some II days after the
Audit. The basis for this is noted as being:
(i) Inflation of the cash on hand figure for a “prolonged period”;
and
(ii) Failure to make good the losses
There is no documentation available to show the timing of the cash differences
and the basis for the comment “prolonged period”. It would be of assistance if
the Post Office could provide this documentation.
The failure to make good the losses basis only II days after the Audit appears a
very short timescale.
7 Witness Statement of Andy Paul Dunks dated 6 April 2006, pages 1-2 listing of calls
® Letter to Mr Thomas from Mr Hughes giving notice of consideration to dismiss, dated 24 October 2005
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3.67
3.68
3.69
3.70
3.71
3.72
3.73
3.74
3.75
It is also noted that the letter invites Mr Thomas to put forward his explanation
by interview or letter, however, it is noted that:
(i) Mr Thomas had already been interviewed under caution at
the Police Station
(ii) All documentation in the branch office had been uplifted,
therefore Mr Thomas was unable to make his only enquiries
or even to review his notes and paperwork
The Post Office then sought to have Mr Thomas prosecuted.
5 What is the monetary value of the issue or issues you are now
reporting?
The net position on 13/10/05 amounted to £48,454.87 onto which the Post
Office added a difference of £1,803.02 which had be doubled on the system,
totalling £50,257.89.
These are shown in section 5 of this Application along with Mr Thomas’ claim
for other element of his claim.
6 Were you subject of either civil recovery action or criminal
prosecution regarding the main issue or issues you are now reporting?
As set out in the Chronology in Section 2 of this document, Mr Thomas was:
(0) Prosecuted criminally
(i) The subject of a POCA confiscation
(ii) Ended up making himself bankrupt.
Without the documentation, it is not possible to determine how, why and when
the differences were accumulated.
Mr Thomas does not appear to have been given the opportunity to work with
the Post Office to establish the above, particularly given the hardware issues
that he was experiencing and the online banking and cheque anomalies that
appear to have been taking place.
7 How were these actions against you (if any) resolved?
As noted above, Mr Thomas was prosecuted, then subject to a POCA
confiscation and made bankrupt.
The legal process pursued by the Post Office was commenced very quickly after
the Audit in October 2005. It is unclear what investigations took place to
establish now the differences built up and what the underlying cause of those
differences may have been.
* Letter to Mr Thomas dated 16 June 2006 re outstanding deficiency claim
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3.76
3.77
3.78
3.79
3.80
3.81
3.82
3.83
3.84
3.85
3.86
It is noted that:
(i) Mr Thomas only had access to the information that the
disclosures made by the Post Office
(ii) Mr Thomas was initially charged with theft and false
accounting yet, from the documentation available there is
nothing to indicate theft
(iii) Mr Thomas was then put under pressure to plead guilty to
false accounting by the offer to drop the theft charge
Following Mr Thomas’ guilty plea a confiscation order under POCA was
pursued resulting in a settlement and ultimately Mr Thomas petitioning for his
own bankruptcy.
The settlement under the POCA amounted to £19k which came from Mr
Thomas’ daughter and also the realisation of various insurance policies.
When Mr Thomas petitioned for his bankruptcy, the deficiency in assets against
liabilities amounted to £99,537, per the Official Receiver’s application for a
bankruptcy restriction order. It is understood that the Post Office did not put a
claim in the bankruptcy.
Mr Thomas, due to the situation had not option but to sell the shop and home
for £100,000 out of which he settled the outstanding mortgage.
8 What is your explanation for the events forming the main issue or
issues you are now reporting?
Mr Thomas contends that the Horizon system contains errors, which creates
anomalies causing differences in the cash reconciliations and Trading Period
closures.
Due to the limitations on the extent to which Mr Thomas could review the
audit trail and compare the data to the records combined with the lack of
training and assistance, Mr Thomas does not know what may have created the
differences beyond those explanations noted above.
Mr Thomas still wishes to know what the underlying causes of the differences
were.
A breakdown of the timing of the differences and the results from the Post
Office investigations would be of assistance in this matter.
9 Did you request assistance from the Post Office regarding the
issue or issues you are now reporting?
Mr Thomas notes that he regularly contacted the helplines when issues arose
and estimates that this equated to approximately once per week.
The detailed supplied by Mr Thomas contains a number of the helpline
references which would indicate that he was phoning the helpline in the 2001-
2003 period. Further information is required regarding the period after this is
required as the references to the helplines which can be seen from the Post
Office witness statements or only based on small periods and not the whole.
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3.87 As a consequence of the Audit in October 2005 Mr Thomas sought
explanations are to what had occurred and why but this does not, based on the
documentation available, appear to have been undertaken.
3.88 It is also noted that the replacement of the system at the Gaerwen branch prior
to the commencement of the new Sub-postmaster indicates that there was an
issue with the hardware.
10 What assistance, if any, was provided?
3.89 There only appears to have been one Audit visit in October 2005.
3.90 The training and support provided to Mr Thomas does not appear to have been
sufficient or give Mr Thomas the knowledge, ability or access to investigate
himself when differences arose.
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Additional Information
A Introduction
4.1 As a consequence of Mr Thomas initial application, Second Sight have requested
a focus on some additional information. For the purposes of completeness, the
additional information requested is detailed below and provided where available.
B Information
42 The information requested was:
(i) The telephone calls that you made to the Post Office’s
helpline. Can you recall and recount the advice or help that
you received?
(ii) The specific areas, products or operational processes where
you assert that you were given inadequate training. If you
know or suspect that you made errors as a consequence of
inadequate training or poor advice, please tell us about that.
(iii) The duration of the Training Courses that you attended and
in what way(s) you felt they were deficient (on page 3 of your
Application you mention one and a half days’ training. Was
that the only training you attended?
(iv) The 50:50 settlement that you mention on Page 2 of your
Application. Do you have any correspondence on that matter
and, if so, you should send us copies.
(0) The amount of the final shortfall that POL asked you to repay.
(vi) Any suspicions you had at the time, or now have, as to where
the missing funds could have gone. Were any specific
products or processes particularly problematical for example?
(vii) Whether, and if so when and how, you requested help from
POL in establishing the underlying Root Cause of the shortfall
that was building up.
(viii) Please let us know when you signed the contract (with POL)
that contained the clause that held you accountable for the
shortfall (clause 12).
The telephone calls that you made to the Post Office's helpline. Can you recall
and recount the advice or help that you received?
43 The telephone logs would be of assistance in this area. The information that is
available comprises the notes maintained by Mr Thomas for the years 2001-
2003 and the information contained in the witness statements are included in
Appendix I and referred to where relevant.
4.4 Mr Thomas notes that he contacted the helplines when issues arose. This is
certainly apparent from the notes he maintained in relation to the earlier years.
It would be of assistance if the Post Office could provide full telephone logs
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along with notes of earlier Audit visits, line manager visits and any other relevant
documentation.
45 Mr Thomas notes that there was no significant assistance available and he had to
rely on the helpline, where is was passed between the technical and business
helplines from which he does not appear to have received a recognition of the
issues assistance required, and the manual, which was miss ordered and found
to be unhelpful.
The specific areas, products or operational processes where you assert that
you were given inadequate training. if you know or suspect that you made
errors as a consequence of inadequate training or poor advice, please tell us
about that.
46 The main focus of Mr Thomas’ comments in this regard is that the training he
was provided with was short and inadequate in all aspects and that the Post
Office staff he dealt with directly or manning the helplines lacked the necessary
training.
47 The limited telephone log information available shows that he was either told re
reboot or passed from one helpline to the other. The records do not show any
real assistance or investigation.
48 It is noted that when new products released by the Post Office there was no
face to face training or support.
49 Overall, from the information and documentation available, the lack of training
and support lead to Mr Thomas not knowing how to deal with the differences
when they arose.
The duration of the Training Courses that you attended and in what way(s) you
felt they were deficient (on page 3 of your Application you mention one and a
half days’ training. Was that the only training you attended?
4.10 Mr Thomas considers that his training was inadequate. He received one and a
half days training at the Victoria Hotel, Llanberis, in or around June 1994, and
received help with his first Cash Account and two Wednesday visits.
4.11 The Horizon training was given 6 months prior to the installation of the system.
4.12 The only other assistance was the manual provided to Mr Thomas which was
difficult to follow and, when given to him, the pages were out of order.
4.13 Mr Thomas does not recall receiving any other training.
The 50:50 settlement that you mention on Page 2 of your Application. Do you
have any correspondence on that matter and, if so, you should send us copies.
4.14 According to the information supplied by Mr Thomas, in 2003/04 his suffered a
difference of approximately £3,000. Mr Thomas notes that the difference in this
instance was settled equally by Mr Thomas and the Post Office. He also notes
that this was never referred to the Post Office’s investigations team.
4.15 Mr Thomas does not know why the difference of £3,000 arose nor why the
Post Office offered to settle 50%.
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4.16 The telephone logs covering this period are not available. It would be helpful if
these could be supplied to clarify the period.
4.17 In addition, all of Mr Thomas’ documentation relating to this period was uplifted
by the Post Office, therefore he is unable to supply any further correspondence
or paperwork around this issue.
The amount of the final shortfall that POL asked you to repay.
4.18 Please see comments above.
4.19 Mr Thomas was asked to pay £50,257.89 in settlement"”.
4.20 Mr Thomas does not recall the Post Office making a claim in his bankruptcy.
Any suspicions you had at the time, or now have, as to where the missing
funds could have gone. Were any specific products or processes particularly
problematical for example?
421 Please see comments above in Sections 2 and 3 of this Application.
422 Mr Thomas appears to have consistently noted that he concerns were with the
Horizon system. Based on the information available, Mr Thomas certainly
seems to have suffered considerable difficulties with the Horizon system from
the point at which it was installed.
423 It also appears unusual for the Post Office to fully remove and replace the
system at the Gaerwen branch delaying the re-opening by the new Sub-
postmaster. In addition Mr Thomas noted that the Post Office staff dealing with
the branch after Mr Thomas’ suspension had experienced difficulties.
Whether, and if so when and how, you requested help from POL in establishing
the underlying Root Cause of the shortfall that was building up.
4.24 Please see comments above in Sections 2 and 3 of this Application.
4.25 Mr Thomas notes that he contacted the helpline when he required assistance
and on more than one occasion requested help which was not forthcoming.
4.26 As the documentation Mr Thomas holds is very limited, it would be of
assistance if the Post Office can provide copies of all correspondence and
telephone logs in the period 2000 to October 2005.
Please let us know when you signed the contract (with POL) that contained the
clause that held you accountable for the shortfall (clause12).
4.27 Mr Thomas does not have a copy of his Contract and cannot recall ever
receiving a signed copy. He was aware that a new contract was brought out in
2003/04 but does not recall signing it or being supplied with a copy.
4.28 It would be of assistance if the Post Office could supply a copy of Mr Thomas’
signed Contract.
'® Statement of Outstanding Debt 13 October 2005
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c Other
429 Additional information has supplied by Mr Thomas to support this application is
included in Appendix I.
4.30 Mr Thomas has requested any further information held by his solicitor, however
due to this solicitor being away, the availability of additional documentation has
not clarified. Should further information relevant to the submission be received
this will be supplied.
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he Impact and Sub-postmaster’s Objectives
5.1
Introduction
As part of the mediation process the applicant is invited to set out their
objectives in relation to the mediation. Set out below are the objectives of the
mediation put forward by Mr Thomas.
Overall Impact
52
53
5.4
5.5
5.6
57
Mr Thomas was subjected to a criminal process before his concerns appear to
have been fully addressed. The Post Office appears to have looked at some
aspects over a very short period, but not at his underlying concerns of the
system and the anomalies that he had seen.
Mr Thomas considers that the approach taken in relation to the prosecution
was both aggressive and inappropriate, particularly regarding the option of them
dropping one charge if he agreed to plead guilty to the other. Out of fear Mr
Thomas agreed. Mr Thomas was sent to prison and then tagged which he and
his family struggled with both as individuals and within the community.
As noted above, the Post Office removed all documentation from the Post
Office which included some personal papers belonging to Mr Thomas, including
paperwork relating to his role as a Councillor. This made it impossible for Mr
Thomas to establish what had gone wrong.
During the period from the Audit in October 2005 to the commencement by
the new Sub-postmaster, Mr Thomas and his wife were unable to open the
shop, thereby losing shop income.
Mr Thomas submitted a Data Protection Act request for any information they
held in relation to him to which the Post Office replied saying that they did not.
Mr Thomas does not understand this response as he had worked for the Post
Office in various roles since 1965.
Mr Thomas also suffered from what had happened given his position in the local
community and his position as Councillor.
Financial Impact
58
5.9
Mr Thomas has provided a note of the financial impact that the actions by the
Post Office have had.
This is summarised in the table below:
Area Impacted £ £
Post Office Salary Loss
Annualised Average 25,000.00
Years to retirement 6
‘Average Inflation Applied 269%
Loss 165,757.62,
Lost Income from the business due to 8,400.00
PO closure and delay in re-opening
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Area impacted £
Lost Income as a Councilor
Loss of House 175,000.00
POCA settlement 19,000.00
Bankruptcy Annulment (est) 155,000.00
Compensation for personal impact 750,000.00
TOTAL LOSS CLAIM 1,297,157.62
B Conclusion
5.10 Mr Thomas wishes the following to take place as part of the mediation process:
(i) The Post Office to issue an apology to Mr Thomas and his
family.
(ii) The Post Office to assist Mr Thomas in the annulment of his
bankruptcy.
(iii) To support Mr Thomas in an application to have the BRO
removed.
(iv) Provide assistance to Mr Thomas in consideration of the basis
for an appeal against the criminal conviction.
(v) The Post Office to make financial settlement to the Thomas’
of £1,297,157.62.
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Appendix I: Documentation Relied Upon
The following is a listing of all documents referred to in this application.
Document Tab
Chronology of issues 2001-2003 prepared and supplied by Mr I
Thomas
Chronology post suspension prepared and supplied by Mr Thomas 2
Witness Statement of Andy Paul Dunks dated 6 April 2006, pages I- 3
2 listing of calls
Witness Statement of Diane Sarah Matthews dated 23 March 2006, 4
page3
Letter to Mr Thomas from Mr Hughes giving notice of consideration 5
to dismiss, dated 24 October 2005
Letter to Mr Thomas dated 16 June 2006 re outstanding deficiency 6
claim
Installation certificate 18 October 2000 7
Statement of Outstanding Debt 13 October 2005 8
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