WITNO2100100
Witness Name: Ms Janet Bradbury
Statement No: WITNO210_01
Exhibits:
THE POST OFFICE HORIZON IT INQUIRY
FIRST WITNESS STATEMENT OF MS JANET BRADBURY
I, MS JANET BRADBURY will state as follows:
Introduction
1. I am grateful to the Chair to be invited to provide a “human impact” statement,
concerning the physical, psychological, emotional, reputational and financial
consequences to me and my family of being held responsible for shortfalls shown by
the Horizon IT system and Post Office Limited’s actions toward me and my family.
The initial paragraphs below provide a brief summary of my background, and provide
context to the detail of the human impact of the Horizon scandal on me and my
family. This statement does not reflect a full account of my experiences or those of
my family and if necessary or required I will provide further witness statement
evidence.
2. I am now retired and I currently live in Warwickshire. I am a mother to two
daughters, and I live with my youngest daughter, she is a mechanic. We rent a house
together as joint tenants. My ex-husband also lives locally and is currently
undergoing! support him by helping him with his house work, taking
him to do his weekly shop and taking him to his hospital appointments every month.
As my husband has a private pension and I am on a state pension, he sometimes
helps me out financially, for example by paying for my dentist appointments.
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3. 1 give this statement in order to provide the Chairman with some understanding of
the impact the Horizon System and Post Office Limited’s actions had on me, my
husband at the time, and our family.
Background prior to appointment as SPM
4. I have a background in finance. Before I became Subpostmistress I was working in
the finance office at a comprehensive school in Coventry called Whitley Abbey. My
5. My husband had been the caretaker for 30 years and he was spending most of his
time removing graffiti from the walls of the school. As a result, he was becoming
disillusioned with his job and wanted a career change.
6. At the time I owned a property which I had plenty of equity in and it I was prepared
to use some of this equity to purchase a business that my husband and I could run
together.
7. Initially, we had planned to get a corner shop, but we were unable to find one within
our price range. We came across an advert in the Daltons weekly that showed a tea
room and Post Office for sale in a village in Shropshire called Clun.
8. We decided to go and view the area and we visited the local school as our daughter
was due to be starting school. It was a wonderful school and this enticed us to
purchase the tea room and Post Office.
Decision to become a SPM
9. We wanted a lifestyle change. We wanted to get out of the city and relocate to a
more rural area. We wanted to find a small village with a good school for our
daughter to attend.
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10. I was excited about the opportunity to become a SPM; the Post Office was a trusted
brand and I was good with figures, so I felt confident about taking on the roll and
becoming part of the community.
11. When we took over the tea room and Post Office we paid £95,000 for the whole
building and only required a small mortgage.
12. The upstairs of the tea room was a craft area, so we decided to convert this into a
living space for my family. We sold our house and moved into a caravan whilst we
were converting the upstairs of the tea room. We used up almost all of our savings
to convert the upstairs into living space, approximately £30,000.
13. My plans were to run the post office until retirement, be financially secure and
create financial security for my daughter.
14. I became Subpostmistress of Clun Post Office, 5/7 Church Street, Clun SY7, 8/W from
24 September 2003 to 29 May 2009 and my husband ran the tea room.
TRAINING AND SUPPORT ON THE HORIZON SYSTEM
15. I.received five days of classroom training provided by the post office. This included
training on health and safety, processing paperwork and how to build your business.
It did include a small amount of training on Horizon but this was limited to logging on
and off and showing you what Horizon would look like ahead of working in the
branch. The computers kept breaking down during the training.
16. When I started at the branch a post office trainer was there for the first 2 days, and
then a trainer also came in to assist with the first balance. The trainer was then
available on the telephone for the next week.
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17. On the first day in my branch, the area manager, Karen Harris-Vernon was visiting
and she told me to open a separate account away from the business to put any cash
discrepancies in. She said sometimes the figures will be up and sometimes the
figures will be down.
18. As I had worked in finance prior to becoming a SPM I did not follow Karen’s advice. I
knew having a separate account in my name, away from the business that was
holding money for the post office would be considered as fraud.
19. I was told that if there were any problems then I should call the Helpline. I was not
told just how many problems there would be or how inadequate the Helpline would
be with addressing these.
20. I consider that the training provided by the Post Office was totally inadequate.
Horizon Helpline
21. When I first started my appointment as a Subpostmistress I called the Helpline
regularly to help me to process transactions in the branch.
22.1 called the Helpline several times every, day but it was difficult to converse with
them as I had to serve customers and would end up breaking off conversations with
the Helpline. I would then try to discuss the same topic with another Helpline
handler later.
23. Quite often, especially on Wednesdays when I was doing the balancing, the Helpline
would not be answered. There was no facility to wait in line or to leave a message.
You could only leave a message to be called back if you had got through to
somebody to begin with, and they would then usually call you back a few days later
while you were busy serving customers.
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24.1 realised over time that the handlers did not understand Horizon and that they
could not assist on anything except the most basic enquiries. It got to the point
where I only called them whenever I had a large discrepancy.
25.1 recall on two specific occasions I called the Helpline about discrepancies, and
followed the helpline advisors instructions to reverse them. On both occasions the
discrepancy doubled.
26.1 was told that this was supposed to happen and that by the time of the branch
balance, the discrepancy would have disappeared. This never happened, and I had to
make good these losses.
Shortfalls
27. In this section, I set out in very brief detail my experience of shortfalls arising from
deficiencies in the Horizon IT System, and Post Office Limited’s actions as a result.
This is only a brief introduction to those matters, in order to provide necessary
context for the explanation of the human impact which follows.
28. During the first few months in the Post office everything ran smoothly and I had no
concerns. Shortly after I became SPM the Post Office informed me that they were
going to be putting in an ATM machine. I was excited at this prospect as I thought it
would be good for business.
29. It was following the instalment of the ATM that the shortfalls started to arise.
30. The first shortfall I recall experiencing was around Christmas in 2003. This was the
first balance of the ATM. I recall the transaction said that £2,000.00 had been put in
but I knew for a fact I had only put in £1,000.00.
31. I immediately called the helpline in the hope that they would help me resolve this
issue and reverse the discrepancies, which had occurred in the stock unit of the
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newly installed ATM. The handler talked me through reversing it by transferring
£1000 from the main stock unit to the ATM stock unit and back again. This caused
the figure to double.
32.1 then called the Helpline nearly every day over the next month trying to reverse
both of these figures. I was told by some handlers that the error would disappear by
the end of the period. I was told by others that I was contractually obliged to make
good the loss. I was also surprised that Helpline handlers treated the two halves of
the shortfall in the same way, as if they were my fault.
33. At the end of the period I was forced to make good the loss by using my overdraft to
provide a cheque for £2,000 to the Post Office.
34. Following this, I experienced multiple so called ‘shortfalls’ from 2003 — 2009 as a
result of the ATM machine and the Horizon system. By way of examples, I
experienced significant shortfalls on the following dates:
a. £2000.00 on 25 September 2007
b. £740.00 on 4 December 2008
c. £3517.00 on 5 February 2009
d. £1055.00 on 25 April 2009
e. £2347.00 on 7 May 2009
35. After the second shortfall mentioned above, and upon my request, the Post Office
sent an investigator called Rob Jones from the Cardiff office who advised me that it
seemed the discrepancies were doubling up when they should have been eliminated.
He never left any paperwork to this effect and the Post Office continued to pursue
me for the shortfalls.
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36. I kept telling the Post Office that something was wrong with the Horizon system, this
prompted them to send an engineer out to replace the hard drives. I made several
complaints and had my hard drives changed every 6 months as a result. I even had
BT change the telegraph pole outside my shop as I believed there was a fault in our
office. I did everything I could to try and fix the problems I was experiencing.
37. Despite all my efforts the problems remained. Having received little to no help or
support from the helpline I felt I had no choice but to pay the money.
38. We ended up having to sell our building at a loss for £72,000, which covered our
mortgage and paid off the overdraft and debt to the Post Office. My husband also
had to cash in £10,000 from his pension to pay the so called shortfalls back to the
Post Office.
39. The building was old and the electrics were not very good so it made sense to move.
We moved the Post Office three doors down into a modern building that we rented.
I thought that because the property suffered from poor electrics that may have been
the reason for the alleged shortfalls. Having paid the money to the Post Office we
couldn’t afford to buy but we were able to cover the rent with my wages from the
Post Office and my husband’s wages as he took a part time job at the local school as
a care taker.
40. In my second Post Office premises everything was brand knew and I believed all the
problems would disappear and the transaction corrections would come through and
I would be reimbursed for all the money I had paid. However, this was not the case
and the problems the problems continued to impact me in the second branch, so I
believe it is something to do with the Horizon system.
41.1 had hard drives replaced on two or more occasions after I moved to the second
branch. On the second occasion a Fujitsu employee, who out came to replace my
hard drive for the umpteenth time, admitted that there was a fault with the system,
but, he said I couldn’t quote him on this as he needed a reference for his new job.
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42. The Post Office did not pursue me for recovery of the alleged shortfalls. The Post
Office's solicitor did send me a letter before action dated 11 April 2011 demanding
£8,504.82 and another letter demanding payment of £10,522.08 on 1 November
2011.
43. The letters were very threatening, and I was constantly afraid that Post Office would
issue proceedings against me or make a complaint of theft against me to the police.
1 contacted my local Citizen’s Advice Bureau for advice, through them a Solicitor
advised me to make copies of all the transactions made.
44. I did not receive any further correspondence from Post Office Ltd following the
letter before action. It was only after I contacted the number and name on the letter
before action that I was advised that Post Office Ltd had decided that it was not in
the public interest to pursue the case.
SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION BY THE POST OFFICE
45. I was not suspended by the Post Office. I resigned due to the increasing pressure of
shortfalls and I could not cope with the stress and financial strain of being liable for
shortfalls that were not my fault.
46. I tried to sell the business in 2008 and 2009 but Post Office told me that I was not
permitted to put the business on the market until I had tendered my resignation,
which I didn't do until sometime later.
47.\ resigned in March 2009 giving my 3 months’ notice. There was a limited period in
which I could market the Post Office as I didn’t want the village to lose access to a
post office branch. I stayed on until August 2009 and I struggled to find a buyer.
48. As a result I had little option but to sell the good will of the branch to the local
convenience store for £1.
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49. Even then the local store owner was only willing to take on the Post Office as he was
planning to sell his shop within the year,
50.1 packed up the car in Shropshire with my young daughter and moved back to
Warwickshire and my husband stayed in Shropshire as he found another job. I had
friends there that found me a place to rent and I got a job
Human impact
51. The constant pressure of having to make good the so called shortfalls left us feeling
as though we had no other option but to pay and consistently being told I was the
only SPM facing these problems made me feel as though I was at fault.
52. We had to sell our building and move into a building we could afford to rent. My
husband had to return to his previous job
53. We used up all of our savings to pay the shortfalls and my husband had to take
£10,000 out of his pension pot to help cover the shortfalls. This put enormous strain
on my marriage and ultimately ruined us and our family.
54. My husband ended up not speaking to me as he resented having to take £10,000 out
of his pension pot. I was forever wondering what I had done wrong with the
transactions.
55. It was extremely stressful. I used to spend hours and hours looking through my
transactions to find the discrepancies. This had an enormous impact on my youngest
daughter. She was only 5 at the time and I was always in the office spending long
nights there going over my transactions to find the discrepancies instead of spending
quality time with her. It was draining.
56. Being held responsible for shortfalls and discrepancies was hugely stressful for me.
My marriage began to fail as a result of the immense stress I was under.
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57.1 absolutely loved my little office and my customers, I felt like I had let them down. I
was the only cash facility in the village and for miles and my service were vital to the
community. I didn’t want to give up I trusted the Post Office and thought it was me
making the mistakes.
58. I was not directly accused of theft, the Post Office just insinuated I was responsible.
The wording of their letters from the Post Office and their solicitors left me in no
doubt that I would have to pay the shortfalls.
59. I consider myself one of the lucky ones as I wasn’t prosecuted.
60. The Post Office took deductions from my salary towards the end of my time in office,
as I told them that a Fujitsu employee, who on his last day of working for Fujitsu
came to replace my hard drive for the umpteenth time, admitted that there was a
fault with the system, but, I couldn’t quote him on this as he needed a reference for
his new job. He too said he was sick of it.
61.1 resigned that same night in March, giving 3 months’ notice but I didn’t actually
leave until August. I had to move back to my home town following my resignation.
62. I was completely broken. I lost my marriage from the stress. My daughter who was
11 at the time had to up root her life and start again at a new school in a strange
town. She was bullied and did not have good experience at her new school. I had to
rent as I couldn’t afford to buy a home and the only job I could get without a
reference was care work.
63.1 went from having a lovely home and savings to having nothing. I felt suicidal on
multiple occasions but I couldn’t put my daughter through the trauma of that. She
was already struggling with not seeing her father, as he stayed in Shropshire when
we split and moved back to my home town.
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64. I still have nothing and I am living on a basic state pension. I am a joint tenant with
my daughter and if anything were to happen to me there is no way my daughter
could afford the rent on her own, and she would be left homeless.
65. I had to leave the village because of shame and I was worried about being labelled a
thief. It was a very tight knit community, and I didn’t want my daughter to have to
hear such rumours, she would not have been able to cope.
66. My ex-husband now has a brain tumour which he is undergoing treatment for. I have
no doubt that is the result of the financial stress the Post Office put him under,
having to use up all of our savings and taking away from his pension pot.
67. I consider myself a strong person but my health has rapidly deteriorated as a result
of the stress brought on by being accused of causing such shortfalls.
68. The effect this has had on my daughter was much worse. She was only 5 when we
moved to Shropshire and she settled in a lovely school and community but slowly
but surely it all started going wrong.
69. By the time she was 11 she could see the stress her mum and dad were under and
subsequently this impacted her. She is now 24 and we have had to move so many
times renting I have lost count.
70. She works hard but has no security of a decent roof over her head. If we hadn’t
bought that Post Office and bought a little corner shop like we had planned we
would be a lot more settled than we are now.
71.1 mistakenly thought that the Post Office would help us be successful. It was the
worst thing we could have done. I resigned in 2009 and it is still going on to this day.
cannot believe this had been dragged out for 12 years.
Conclusion
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72. I have no financially security for me or my family. The experience has caused me
years of stress and has bought on ill health. I am very unwell and my health is
deteriorating as a result of the stress that the Post Office caused. I have huge
concerns about how my daughter will cope if anything happens to me she has no
security because the Post Office took everything from us.
73.1 hate the Post Office and the fact they are still entertaining Fujitsu to this day is
disgusting. I don’t use a post office anymore at all, unless I need something signed
for, which is extremely rare. I buy my stamps from a supermarket and avoid the post
office at all costs.
74.1 want this inquiry to hold those responsible to account, especially Fujitsu for the
faulty software they provided. I want compensation for all the money I have lost and
for all the problems they have caused me and the stress they have put me through. I
would also like to be able to pay the £10,000 back into my ex-husband’s pension pot.
But most of all, I want my daughter, who was impacted so badly by the stress of the
events to be finically secure.
Statement of Truth
I believe the contents of this statement to be true.
Janet Bradbury
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