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Witness Name: Mr Frank Holt
Statement No: WITNO305_01
Exhibits: None
THE POST OFFICE HORIZON IT INQUIRY
FIRST WITNESS STATEMENT OF MR FRANK HOLT
I, MR FRANK HOLT WILL SAY 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 live with my wife and we have 3 daughters and 2 surviving sons as our eldest son
passed away in 2011. We have 11 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.
BACKGROUND
3. 1 was the subpostmaster of Glenmoriston Stores and Post Office, Invermoriston,
Invernessshire in Scotland from on or around 1 December 2008 to 20 July 2017.
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4. Prior to becoming a subpostmaster I was an experienced businessman and had run a
number of successful businesses in retail, footwear and textiles.
5. When I took on the post office I was employed as a delivery driver and making a
good living and my daughter Tiffany Lee Holt came straight out of school to help run
our branch.
6. I am originally from Lancashire and my family had no connection to the Highlands of
Scotland, where our post office was. As a family we had fallen in love with the
picturesque area and looked forward to running a village post office at the centre of
community life.
z The post office seemed to be a very good investment that could provide a secure
living and financial security for myself and my family. I was in my 50s and being a
subpostmaster seemed like something that could carry me into retirement,
particularly as my wife was suffering with cancer at the time.
8. I purchased the entire business, including the post office and retail side for £245,000.
This was financed through a mortgage as well as my own savings.
9. 1 operated a retail business from the premises called Glenmoriston Stores. I
employed two assistants.
TRAINING AND SUPPORT
10. I received onsite training over a period of 4 days from the 1 December 2008 until the
5 December 2008, apart from the 3 December when the office was closed. The
trainers were onsite for 3 hours per day, so I received approximately 12 hours of
training in total.
11. The training took place over the busy Christmas period. I therefore felt that the
training was extremely rushed. I was only shown how to complete transactions once.
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12. Several transactions were covered, including selling stamps, parcels, recorded and
special delivery, electricity keys, mobile phone top ups, premium bonds, foreign
currency, daily cash declarations, remming out, stock checks and cash checks. I was
not confident or familiar with using a computer and it was a lot of information for
me to take in.
13. 1 do not recall being offered or receiving any follow up training and the trainers did
not seem concerned as to whether I had understood everything or not. I therefore
do not feel that this training adequately prepared me for my role as subpostmaster
nor left me feeling confident or comfortable in using the Horizon system.
14, Although I did not receive any further training, a trainer named Alicia came to the
branch to train my daughter, Lyndsey on the Horizon system. The trainer was
supposed to spend 3 days at the branch but ended up only staying for 3 hours. This
was not sufficient time to cover Horizon in adequate detail. I was not involved in this
training.
15. In approximately August 2012 the trainer, Alicia attended the branch for a further 2
days and provided my other daughter, Tiffany, with 6 hours of training. The training
consisted of Alicia watching Tiffany serve customers and intervening when Tiffany
made an error. This training was requested following the audit on 26 June 2012, but
it did not address the issues identified from the audit. It was therefore not adequate
in assisting with problems in the branch. Again, I was not involved with this training.
HELPLINE
16. _I estimate that I contacted the Helpline 1 — 3 times a month. I contacted the Helpline
when I had problems balancing and when discrepancies appeared. The general
advice would be to roll over the system and make good the shortfall so that trading
can continue the following day and that the shortfall would correct itself.
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17. I was told on several occasions by the Helpline that I was the only one experiencing
problems with shortfalls and issues with the Horizon system.
18. I suffer with rheumatoid arthritis and my daughter Tiffany took on more of the day
to day running of the branch when my illness became more severe. She stopped
calling the Helpline as she had lost faith in their ability to help. She was always told
that the system would correct itself and to simply make it good on screen so that
trading could continue the next day. This is what she continued to do as there was
no other advice given.
SHORTFALLS
19. 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.
Shortfall 1
20. On 26 June 2012 there was a shortfall of £1,090.66. i paid the Post Office for this
shortfall by cheque on the same day. This shortfall was discovered following an audit
of the branch on the same day. I was told that this was a random check. I was not
given the opportunity to look over the findings to see how the shortfall had
occurred. I was given the impression that I had no option but to make good the
shortfall.
Shortfall 2
21. On 9 September 2014 a shortfall of £30,244.79 was identified following an audit of
the branch. I did not pay the Post Office for this shortfall. I was not aware of this
shortfall until this point. I did not pay as I disputed liability.
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22. The Post Office has chased me for repayment of this alleged shortfall on several
occasions. On the 23 January 2017 I was told that I would be reinstated if it were
paid. In their letter giving notice of my termination, dated 18 April 2017, Post Office
confirmed that they will set off any remuneration due under my notice period
against the alleged outstanding shortfall. Post Office are refusing to pay me any
remuneration due whilst this alleged shortfall remains outstanding.
23. Although I cannot recall specific dates, there were several instances where we would
encounter power cuts or surges as well as network problems where the internet and
phone lines would cut out. I believe that such problems may have caused the
unexplained shortfall and balancing errors.
AUDIT AND INVESTIGATION
24, The first audit was carried out on the 26 June 2012. I was not given any notice of the
audit. I was told by the Post Office that this was a random check. I, and my counter
clerk, were present on the day of this audit. We were allowed by the auditors to
stand in the doorway to the fortress area, but we did not count any cash or stock
ourselves. We watched the auditors as they proceeded with the audit. A National
Federation of Sub postmaster representative, Kevin Waddinton, was also present at
the audit.
25. The audit identified a shortfall of £1,096.66. I was not given an adequate explanation
as to what this shortfall comprised of, but I understand that it involved cash and
stock. Kevin Waddington, the NFSP representative advised me to pay the shortfall
immediately. I was very anxious about having a shortfall and felt pressured to pay
this money back. I felt that 1 had no choice. I therefore paid £1,096.66 by cheque
immediately.
Second Audit
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The second audit took place on the 9 September 2014. Two auditors arrived at the
post office at approximately 8.30am. I was not given any notice ahead of this audit.
On their arrival, the auditors informed me that the post office would be closed and
would remain closed until the audit was complete. My daughter Tiffany and I were
present during the audit.
Each auditor counted cash held in the office and verified their totals with each other.
I was informed that they had discovered a shortfall of approximately £40,000, which
was made up of £20,000 in £100 notes and £20,000 in £50 notes. At this point, one
auditor named Susan Anderson made a phone call and subsequently asked me if I
was able to make good the shortfall. I replied that I would not.
The auditors asked my daughter Tiffany to check the totals of the cash and stock.
Tiffany disagreed with the total. On recount, the auditors agreed with Tiffany's
findings. Whilst Tiffany was counting the cash, the auditors continued to count
additional Christmas stock, which needed to be added to the totals already given.
Tiffany was not given the opportunity to check this additional stock. Tiffany was then
asked to sign the cash sheets.
I was then told that the revised total shortfall was approximately £30,000 and Ms
Anderson asked me again if I could 'repay' this amount. Again, I answered "no". I was
then asked to hand over the keys to the branch and advised they would not be
returned to me until I had repaid the shortfall. Ms Anderson then asked my
daughter Tiffany to collect and hand over the trading statements from 26 June 2012
to date, which she did. All trading statements were handed over and taken by Post
Office. The auditors left at approximately 5:30pm. I was not provided with a copy of
the audit report at this time.
I was immediately suspended, and the branch closed. We were able to continue
trading as a retail business once the Post Office had cleared all their stock and
machinery from the premises.
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On the 24 September 2014 I received a letter from Robert Findlay, the Post Office
contracts manager requesting that I attend an interview or provide a written
response to the shortfalls. I replied by letter dated the 26 September 2014
requesting information so that I could properly respond to the allegations against
me.
In response to this, Mr Findlay provided a copy of the Audit Report for the audit of 9
September 2014 together with a warning letter. These documents did not provide
any assistance in understanding the cause of the alleged shortfall.
On or around 6 October 2014, I wrote a further letter to Mr Findlay explaining that
myself and my family did not understand how the alleged shortfall could have built
up and I requested further information to be provided to assist in my own
investigation. I also clearly stated that it was my view that "We cannot accept that
this alleged shortfall even exists, let alone accept any liability for it"
1 engaged in an exchange of correspondence with Mr Findlay. On or around 27
October 2014, Mr Findlay provided copies of the cash sheet, as checked by the
auditors, and an office snapshot taken on the day of the audit. This further
information was not sufficient to understand how the alleged shortfall built up and I
therefore persevered in asking Mr Findlay to provide more information. On 4
December 2014, Mr Findlay provided electronic copies of cash declarations and
trading statements completed at the branch. The trading statements were illegible.
My family and I went through the data provided very carefully. in a letter to Mr
Findlay dated 8 December 2014, I listed several queries and concerns with the
declaration data. I noticed that there were several duplicate or identical
declarations, which would not be possible during business. I also highlighted
declarations that seem to have appeared on the system multiple times. I highlighted
missing cash declarations and requested copies of these. We asked Mr Findlay
directly what effect the "double entries" had on Post Office's calculations at the
branch.
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36. The brief response received by Mr Findlay in a letter dated 7 January 2015 stated
that he had “Spoken with some people who are experts on the Horizon system" but
simply dismissed my queries as operator error.
37. This protracted correspondence continued. Despite continued and repeated
requests for information and documents, Post Office failed to provide adequate or
clear evidence. I therefore feel that my own investigations were more thorough than
those carried out by Post Office, and that Post Office did not escalate their own
investigation after I pointed out apparent errors.
38. Following our own escalation to our MSP and subsequent correspondence, we
received a letter from Mr Findlay on 20 April 2016 stating that Post Office had
prepared a report in relation to our case. I do not know the contents of this report.
39. All correspondence with Mr Findlay was forwarded to Freeths Solicitors.
SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION
40. I was suspended immediately following the audit on 9 September 2014.
41. The branch was closed by Post Office following the audit on 9 September 2014. The
branch remained closed until 16 September 2014 when Post Office removed all cash
and stock from my premises.
42. In a letter dated 18 April 2017, Post Office gave me 3 months’ notice of termination.
In this letter, Post Office confirmed that they will set off any remuneration due under
my notice period against the alleged outstanding shortfall. Post Office are refusing to
pay me any remuneration due whilst this alleged shortfall remains outstanding.
43. My contract was finally terminated on the 20 July 2017.
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CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
44. The Post Office did not pursue me for recovery of the alleged shortfall by way of civil
proceedings.
45. The Post Office did not pursue criminal proceedings against me.
46. However, my daughter and assistant, Tiffany, was arrested by Inverness Police and
charged with embezzlement. Tiffany attended an interview with Mr Stills, Police
Officer, on 22 July 2015. When Tiffany was questioned, she was placed in a police
cell and even had her shoes taken off her. This was a humiliating and terrifying
experience for her.
47. This matter was dealt with by the Police rather than Post Office directly. No further
action was taken.
LOSSES
48. Firstly, the Post Office’s actions caused a terrible financial impact. When I was
suspended, the loss of the post office resulted in a loss of footfall and the retail
business drastically declined. I also lost my post office salary and other related
income. This made the business close to unviable causing real financial hardship and
stress.
49. I was forced to close the retail business and sold the lease. The rent I received was
much less than what I would have received had the business continued with a post
office branch attached.
50. The value of my investments has diminished. I paid £245,000 for the purchase of
Glenmoriston Stores. This purchase price was not broken down and the premises
included the post office, the retail shop, the sorting office and several self-contained
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flats. Without the Post Office included, I know that the value of my business and the
premises decreased significantly.
51. The Post Office robbed my family and I of our financial future. I wanted to retire at
least at age 65 and have the post office to pass on to my children. However the Post
Office took that financial stability and peaceful retirement that I had planned and
worked so hard for.
HUMAN iMPACT
52. As a result of the accusations made by Post Office, my business and personal
reputation within the community was tarnished. I felt anxious about serving and
facing local customers who came to the store. I had to ask my wife or one of my
daughters to serve them.
53. My family and I had to explain to customers in our small community, most of who
were locals who knew us, why the post office was closed which caused considerable
embarrassment as we were in essence branded as thieves.
54. Living in a small community, news travels fast and we noticed that quite a few
people who regularly used the shop no longer did and chose to travel a greater
distance to the next convenience shop. This was very disheartening for the whole
family as we had been in the village for 6 years and had built up a good reputation
and rapport with the locals as a whole.
55. I We as a family felt ashamed and were absolutely devastated. Conversations with
customers which were light hearted before the accusations now became very
strained and short, always with the thoughts of what must they think of us. Where
we previously enjoyed an active social life I now do not like leaving my home to go
out into the village.
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With my reputation in complete tatters and the anguish myself and my family were
suffering, my health took a turn for the worse and I believe this had a profound
effect on my rheumatoid arthritis which has become debilitating at times.
I feel that I have suffered defamation of character, which has had a result on my
business as well as my private life. When living and working in a small community,
rumours and accusations are very damaging. This has caused both myself and my
family distress and a number of former customers within the local community now
refuse to come to my shop.
During my appointment as subpostmaster, I suffered with stress because of the
unexplained discrepancies in my balancing, which was very alarming and left me
feeling under a shadow of fear. Every day was either emailing Post Office officials or
waiting for a response from the Post Office. Countless hours were spent scouring
paperwork that we had access to, to try and find a reason for this accusation.
Since my suspension, I have suffered with depression, anxiety and insomnia. I have
also had suicidal thoughts. The events that have occurred have had a damaging and
continuing effect on my mental health.
Following numerous emails to the Post Office I was intimidated and threatened with
arrest. My daughter was arrested as she was the clerk in the Post Office at the time,
and she had harsh treatment in police custody and was treated like a criminal.
This was absolutely terrifying for both of us, and we still live with the trauma. I was
anxious and worried about what would happen to my wife and my other daughter
and granddaughter should I be sent to prison and how they would cope with the
business, the household and living in the shadow of having convicted family
members.
My daughter was struggling with the fact that she might go to prison and have to
leave her young son for an unknown amount of time, and terrified for the future of
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her own child. She has been changed by the experience. She is not the happy and
carefree person who she used to be and is less trusting.
63. Furthermore, the stress following the accusations of the shortfall discovered at the
audit on 9 September 2014 aggravated my rheumatoid arthritis. I was in a lot of pain
with this condition, and the additional stress made this worse.
64. —_ During this time my family suffered immensely. In addition, because of the extreme
stress, both myself and my wife developed serious health conditions, and her cancer
was exacerbated.
65. There was enormous strain put on our family relationships. We have always
operated as a team and live close to each other, however the Post Office’s actions
undermined the trust between us. Within the family some members even began to
doubt if Tiffany was innocent after she was questioned by the Police.
66. My children have also suffered immensely having to provide emotional support to
myself and my wife as we struggled with our situation and I experienced suicidal
thoughts, when all we have ever wanted to do is give our children a happy life.
CONCLUSION
67. The Post Office has completely up-ended my life and that of my family. We have been
financially left worse off.
68. Our dream of running a village post office in a picturesque part of the country has
been ruined. And the comfortable retirement that I planned and worked for has gone,
and I cannot give my children and grandchildren the financial security that I feel they
deserve.
69. Being accused of a criminal offence is by far the worst thing that has happened to me.
1 do believe the brutal pursuit of Post Office officials, and myself and one of my
daughters potentially facing prison contributed to a significant deterioration of my
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health. Life for my whole family was on hold whilst we tried to provide an explanation
to the Post Office but being blocked at every turn by them by not providing
documents which could have helped us.
70. The profound trauma of my experience, and that of my daughter, has greatly
impacted my family and we are still struggling with the consequences.
STATEMENT OF TRUTH
Dated... 8 2-22
Frank Holt
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