WITNO01450100
WITNESS: ALISON HALL
STATEMENT NUMBER: WITNO145_01
EXHIBITS: 0
DATED: Jan 14, 2022
POST OFFICE HORIZON IT INQUIRY
FIRST WRITTEN STATEMENT OF ALISON HALL
THIS STATEMENT IS PROVIDED IN RESPONSE TO THE RULE 9 REQUEST OF
THE PUBLIC INQUIRY DATED 29/10/2021 TO ADDRESS THE HUMAN IMPACT OF
I, MISS ALISON HALL Date of Birth I
THE FAILINGS OF THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM
GRO __ will say as follows:-
PERSONAL BACKGROUND
a
I am currently 53 years of age and live with my partner! I have
two children, a boy and a girl who are now both adults but at the time of these
events were teenagers.
I began working for the Post Office as a Sub Postmaster at the Hightown
branch on 16" February 2005. I had no previous Post Office experience. Prior
to working for the Post Office I had worked at the local primary school for
some twelve years employed as an assistant cook and also as a non-teaching
assistant. I have also worked at the local Tesco supermarket for
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approximately 5 years. Due to working at the school and local supermarket I
knew almost everybody in the area.
POST OFFICE HISTORY
3. I commenced work at the Hightown Post Office branch as a sub post mistress
on 16" February 2005.)
sale and applied to purchase the business and the adjoining premises. After
one interview we were told that our application had been successful and
accordingly we sold our own home and took out a business loan to purchase
the business and adjoining premises at a total cost of £265,000. The premises
-
I initially received 5 days training in a centre in Leeds, which was focused on
sales. I then received one week on site support, where I received a one-time
instruction on how to do an end of week balance.
5. I can’t remember the name of my area manager as I hardly ever saw him. He
attended site approximately every six weeks for about three months.
However, he only stayed on site for approximately 15 minutes each visit.
6. The post office branch was limited in size and sold only basic post office
services. The business began to grow and consequently we took out a
£15,000 loan with Natwest Bank to expand the premises and the services that
we could offer.
7. The business was growing, and we made enquiries about installing a National
Lottery Terminal. This was itself approved and led to a substantial growth in
our business. The National Lottery terminal was installed in 2007. The sales
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of the scratch cards went very well, and we were contacted by National
Lottery to take more cards for sale.
8. The business was doing so well that in April 2010 we applied for and were
approved to take over a disused post office in Roberttown which was very
close to where we live. Our plan was for my daughter to largely run the branch
with me splitting my time between the two premises. Our plan was to model
the new branch on the existing branch as it had a similar demographic.
CRIMINAL ALLEGATIONS AND ANY PROCEEDINGS/CONVICTION
9. On 28" August 2010 I had a visit from a member of staff from the Post Office.
The lady who attended was going to update the Horizon system.
10.1 told her that I had received approximately thirty six transaction correction slips
and that the system showed a shortfall of about £13,000. I was at that point
relieved that I had someone who could potentially help me to rectify the system.
Unfortunately, I was offered no assistance and told to close the Post Office
immediately.
4
=
.I was then subjected to a formal audit in September 2010 and suspended. The
auditor said the discrepancies appeared to be from scratch card sales. I believe
the date of my suspension was 3 September 2010. I received written
confirmation of my suspension in October 2010.
12.I attended an interview at the Leeds post office headquarters with proof of sales
and tock of scratch cards for the period in question, however, they were
completely dismissed. I was interviewed by Sue Mudderman. The Investigators
were Christopher Night and Paul Whitaker, they were not interested in my
material and refused to look at it. I appealed my suspension and my appeal was
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heard by Andy Bayfield at Leeds post office headquarters. My employment was
terminated following the meeting and following my appeal, I received
confirmation of the termination of my employment by letter which was received
on Christmas Eve 2010.
13.It was only apparent I was not the only Sub-postmaster suffering a similar
ordeal, when following my suspension my partner
nights searching google. He suddenly came across the Justice for Sub-
postmasters Alliance.
14.The legal advice I received during my interview with the Post Office
investigation team (28 September 2010) was minimal. After I was told the
interview would be held under caution, my solicitor was told he wasn't allowed
to intervene throughout the interview.
15.1 was summoned to appear at the Batley and Dewsbury Magistrates Court after
being charged with theft. I believe I attended twice. I was then ordered to appear
at the Leeds Crown Court. The legal advice I received during my appearance
in the Crown Court was to accept the plea bargain. I was informed that if I
pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, I would avoid prison. I felt pressured to accept
this advice and was convicted. I pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of False
Accounting to avoid a full trial, and the probability of a custodial sentence for
theft.
16.1 was subsequently ordered to perform 120 hours community service and was
subject to a confiscation order where I had to repay the shortfall of £14,842.57
and costs in the sum of £1,000 within a period of 12 months.
17.I carried out my community service over 6 months in a charity shop.
18. My conviction was overturned on 23 April 2021.
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THE HUMAN IMPACT
19. The human impact which the failings of the Horizon IT System have had and
continue to have upon me and my family are set out in the remainder of this
statement. The section headings follow the particular questions posed by the
Inquiry.
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING REQUIRED TO MAKE GOOD
APPARENT SHORTFALLS SHOWN BY THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
20.1 was required to repay to the Post Office the sum of £14,842.57 together with
the sum of £1,000 in respect of prosecution costs. I also had to fund my own
legal costs in the sum of £2,650.00
21.The confiscation order included a term that I was ordered to repay the money
to the Post Office within a period of 12 months. I took out a loan in the sum of
£10,000 and used up money from the remaining business for the remainder.
22.1 was planning to open up the post office in Roberttown. I had engaged the
services of a builder for this work, but due to my conviction, the approval for
me to open up the post office was withdrawn, and I was unable to pay the
builder for the works that he had undertaken.
WHAT WERE THE COSTS OF MAKING GOOD ALLEGED SHORTFALLS
SHOWN BY HORIZON?
23.I made one payment of £665 from my personal savings account.
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24.\In order to try and cover the shortfall from the audit, after my conviction, we
took out a loan of £10,000 from Tesco bank and we also paid £5,000 on
credit card.
HOW WERE YOU AFFECTED WHEN ALLEGED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
SHORTFALLS OR DISCREPANCIES SHOWN BY THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
25.1 was in tears when I was told that I was responsible for the arrears. I had
of the problems and was now faced with telling him and my
never told.
immediate family.
26.1 had wrongly believed that the Post Office staff had attended to help me sort
out the problems. I was angry and frustrated that no one would listen to me. I
was horrified by the accusations.
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR
SHORTFALLS AND DISCREPANCIES SHOWN BY THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
27.1 was convicted of False Accounting offences as a consequence of being held
responsible and forced to repay money to the Post Office that I knew was not
owing. This required me to take out a loan and use funds from my other
business.
28.1 lost my salary and income from the post office and lost the opportunity to
open a second branch which I had already invested in.
WHAT WERE YOUR FINANCIAL LOSSES CAUSED BY ACTION TAKEN
AGAINST YOU IN RELIANCE UPON HORIZON DATA?
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29. Following the audit at my office and discovery of the shortfall, I was
suspended immediately with no pay. I never received another penny.
30. Our daughter worked full time in our shop whilst I ran our Post Office. As a
result of my termination, her hours were cut to part time.
31.1 also incurred interest on the loan we took out and the credit card payments.
The interest on the loan was £2,032.64. I have no total of the interest incurred
through the credit cards, but it did take over 5 years to pay.
32.1 was given a period of 12 months to pay back the shortfall of £14,842 plus
£1,000 court or prosecution costs.
33.As detailed above, I also had to pay my own legal costs of £2,650.
WHAT EFFECT DID IT HAVE TO BE ACCUSED OF COMMITTING CRIMINAL
OFFENCES AS A RESULT OF SHORTFALLS AND DISCREPANCIES SHOWN
BY THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
34.When I was accused of committing criminal offences, I knew that they were
wrong. I had evidence to prove that there was no shortfall and had receipts to
show that I was innocent. I was frustrated and angry at every step as no one
was prepared to look at the evidence which I had.
35.1 was not able to sleep at night and was sleeping in a separate room to
is I was tossing and turning each night and did not wish to disturb
him. He was still working for the NHS on a full time basis.
36.When the Post Office was closed, I could not avoid being questioned about
the reasons behind it as we still ran our other business from the same
premises. I was forced to make up stories as I did not want to tell people the
truth of my situation.
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37. I also had to explain why our other branch was not opening. The local
newspaper had run a piece about the branch reopening, and we had to
explain why it was not. I was ashamed of the accusations and had been proud
to be considered as a pillar of the community.
38.1 knew all of my regular customers and if an older customer did not come into
the shop at their usual time, I would check up on them. I knew that if the
accusations were made public all of my previous community work would be
for nothing, and I would never be trusted again.
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING CONVICTED OF A CRIMINAL
OFFENCE AS A RESULT OF SHORTFALLS AND DISCREPANCIES SHOWN BY
THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
39. Once I was convicted, I was required to perform 120 hours of community
service. This was completed by working in a charity shop. I would tell
customers who knew me that I was helping out a friend and that it was only
for a short time.
40.I was also required to repay the shortfall and needed to take out a loan for this
to be repaid. I felt as though the Post Office were quite vindictive in this regard
as I received a letter after eleven months stating that I had no intention to
repay the amount outstanding. This was not true and was based upon the
Post Office observation that the premises were not up for sale. I had arranged
for a loan and had every intention of complying with the court order.
41. My daughter suffered financially as she was going to be running the new
branch. She was 20 years of age at the time and was going to be involved in
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expanding the business and providing her with her own opportunity to be
involved.
42.1 no longer felt as though I could be an active member of the community and
withdrew from community activities.
43.I have suffered problems with my mental health because of this injustice. I
have recently been assessed by a counsellor and have been recommended
to have at least 15 sessions of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
WHAT EFFECT DID THESE ISSUES HAVE UPON YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH
YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES AND LOCAL COMMUNITY?
44.I employed family members and friends to work within the post office and my
shop. As I was no longer able to work within the post office and I could not
keep all of the team working the same hours, I was forced to reduce hours or
let people go altogether.
45. This was very difficult as I had not told any of my wider family or friends about
the charges that I had faced. I was forced to continue to lie to my friends and
family as a result. Relationships became strained and this was extremely
stressful as it changed who I was.
46.I had employed a family friend to undertake work at the new branch. I owed
him a considerable amount of money for the work done on my behalf and
could not afford to pay him. This undoubtedly strained our relationship but as
he was a friend it went no further, and no action was taken to recover the
money outstanding.
47.When we intended to open up the new branch, it would have had an effect of
needing more staff. I was intending on splitting my time at both branch offices
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and this would require staff at my old branch to be offered longer hours or to
employ more staff. The same would have applied at the new branch once the
business began to grow.
48.The community lost the opportunity to gain this employment and also lost the
chance for the Post Office to reopen in a community where the shop had been
closed for several years. That community only had one convenience store and
the presence of the post office would have made a massive difference in the
area.
PLEASE DESCRIBE THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECT WHICH THESE
ISSUES HAD UPON THE MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY?
ind I had intended to be in a position to possibly partially retire at 55
years of age and fully retire at the age of 67. We both feel as though that
option has now been taken away from us and that we will both now have to
work until state retirement age.
50.1 lost significant income as a result of the prosecution and termination of my
employment. I had proved that I could expand the business and was ready to
invest in another branch. I have never received any payment for the loss of
the goodwill from the post office as a relief postmaster was simply put in my
place. That situation continues to this day.
51.In opening the new branch, my daughter would have been given the
opportunity of employment in the Roberttown Post Office and store to help me
grow the business. The conviction and termination of my employment stopped
that opportunity from becoming a reality.
52.My mother died without the knowledge that I was innocent.
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53. My wider family employed within the post office would have been in a position
to earn extra money due to the expansion of the business.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
54.1 always felt as though I was an important member of our local community and
enjoyed helping whenever possible. I have lived in the area for most of my life
and lost more than 10 years of actively participating in that community life.
55.My mother died in September 2020 and she died without knowing that I was
not a criminal and that I had done nothing wrong.
56.Nothing can undo what me and my family have been subjected to; I can only
hope that this Inquiry makes findings and recommendations that are taken on
board and organisations like the Post Office learn lessons that ensure that law
abiding citizens such as me do not have to face such an injustice again.
Statement Of Truth
I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true.
Position Or
Office Held:
Print Full
Name: ALISON HALL Date of signature: Jan 14, 2022
FILE REFERENCE: GRO I
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