UKGI00008510 - Post Office Group Litigation, Womble Bond Dickinson Report re: Mohammad Sabir

Evidence on official site

UKG100008510
UKGI00008510

Post Office Group Litigation
Confidential and privileged information WOMBLE

Branches:

Dates of service:

Loss claimed:
Contract model:

Background:

BOND
DICKINSON

Mohammad Sabir

Cottingley Post Office® Branch, 4 The Parade, Cottingley, BD16 1RP
Crossflatts Post Office® Branch, 33A Keighley Road, Bingley

9 September 2006 to 2 October 2009 (Cottingley)

11 October 2006 to 2 October 2009 (Crossflatts)

At least £95,000 for (wrongly) repaid shortfalls and loss of investment/ earnings

Standard Subpostmasters Contract 1994

Mr Sabir became Subpostmaster of Cottingley on 9 September 2006 and Crossflatts on 11 October
2006. Mr Sabir claims that from 2008 he experienced discrepancies in the accounts for Cottingley which
created an apparent surplus when a Lottery scratchcard was sold. An audit of Cottingley conducted by
Post Office branch on 10 August 2009 revealed a shortfall of £4,878.36 which primarily related to
scratchcards. The number of lottery scratch cards recorded as being in stock was greater than the
number of actual stock. Due to the shortfall at Cottingley, an audit of Crossflatts was carried out the
following day, revealing a small (immaterial) surplus. Mr Sabir was suspended from both branches and,
after an investigation, both his contracts were terminated.

Key allegations made:

Mr Sabir claims, in addition to the generic complaints made by all Claimants, that:

He requested further training on the Horizon system but Post Office told him they could not spare
the resources. He alleges that the training he was provided with was inadequate.

From 2008 he claims that a surplus of cash was created when scratch cards were sold and that
he removed this surplus and placed it in the branch safe. When the audit uncovered a shortfall
he presented the cash immediately and wrote a cheque for the remaining outstanding amount.
He therefore tries to claim that there was no real shortfall.

Reason for termination:

The shortfall of £4,878.36 discovered at audit on 10 August 2009 had been disguised by inflating
the figure for declared Lottery scratchcards in the branch accounts.

At interview on 1 October 2009, Mr Sabir admitted that he had knowingly been overstating
figures in his accounts to conceal losses.

Post Office summarily terminated Mr Sabir's contracts of both branches on 2 October 2009 due
to ‘falsification of the branch trading account by inflating the declared lottery scratch cards on
hand figure and failure to make good of losses with out delay’.

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