WITN0O3490100
Witness Name: Fiona Elliott
Statement No.: WITNO349_01
Exhibits: 1
Dated: 09/05/2022
IN THE POST OFFICE HORIZON IT INQUIRY
FIRST WITNESS STATEMENT OF FIONA ELLIOTT
I, FIONA ELLIOTT, will say as follows...
INTRODUCTION
1. I am grateful to the Chair to be invited to provide a “human impact” statement,
concerning the consequences to me and my family as a result of the Horizon IT system
and Post Office Limited’s actions toward me and my family. The introductory
paragraphs below provide a brief summary of my background, and to provide context
to the detail of the human impact of the scandal on me and my family.
2. I live with my husband and our four children. I have been a childminder working from
home since 2014.
BACKGROUND
3. Iwas the subpostmistress at the post office branch in Urney, Clady, in Strabane from
2005 until 2009. I operated the branch along with an accompanying
retail/supermarket business.
4. Clady is a very close-knit community where everyone knows each other. My family
have lived in the area a long time and is well known as my brother has a car dealership
and my father owns a petrol station.
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5. The shop and post office came up for sale in 2005, and my husband and I purchased it
along with the attached house. The attached property came as a buy to let investment
and we rented it out.
6. Prior to running the store, I had a successful career working in a medical practice.
7. My husband and I discussed buying the business and the property at length. It
sounded like a sound business idea, working with a trusted and respectable institution
— Post Office Ltd. it was to be an investment in which we could work in until our
retirement. We hoped this would be our pension, something we could pass onto our
children.
TRAINING AND SUPPORT
8. The Horizon IT system was already installed in the branch when I took over the
position in 2005.
9, I received one day of in branch training from a Post Office advisor when I took on the
position. However, I did keep on the assistant, who had worked in the branch
prior to me taking ove! had more experience, and so I felt confident having her
there, knowing that there was a lot to learn in such a short time.
10. However, discrepancies appeared very early on which neither myself nor my assistant
0: could explain or account for.
HELPLINE
11. After I began to experience shortfalls in the Horizon system, and I contacted the
Helpline on more times that I can remember. I asked the Post Office for extra help and
training. I felt I was doing something wrong and made it known to them that I wanted
to understand why the discrepancies were happening.
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12. The advice from the helpline advisors did not help at all. I was told that I was
responsible for the shortfalls, and I had to put my own money in to make up for them.
If I did not do this, I could not roll over the system and continue to trade.
13. I was not given any help from the Post Office as to why the shortfalls continued to
occur even though I was notifying the helpline on every occasion.
14, My request to the Post Office for help and further training was ignored.
15. I kept a log of all my calls to the Helpline, which is exhibited to this statement. I did
not see my area manager for approximately 2 years. My stress, anxiety and frustration
levels were through the roof. I was continually let down by the Post Office. I felt I had
no other option but to put any profit I earned from the retail business into keeping
the post office running.
SHORTFALLS
16. In this section, I set out in very brief detail my experience of shortfalls arising from
deficiencies in the Horizon 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.
17.1 experienced regular and repeated shortfalls in the branch from the start of my
tenure. I estimate that in total I used approximately £15,000 to £20,000 of my own
money to make good the shortfalls.
18. I felt under constant pressure to keep the business running, not just for myself but for
the community. I was putting in money from the retail profits to pay for the post office
shortfalls. I felt I had no choice but to pay the money as I could not afford to lose my
business.
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AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS
19. The branch was audited in 2008/2009, I cannot remember the exact date.
20. I had requested the audit in the hope that it would help explain where and how the
shortfalls were occurring. The auditors found a figure far higher than I was expecting,
particularly given that I was making good these shortfalls out of my own money every
week.
21, The auditors came back to me with a shortfall of approximately £6,000, I was told by
the auditors that I had to pay this immediately. I was not given any information about
how or why these shortfalls had arisen and at no time was I provided with any data
necessary for me to independently check the auditor’s findings.
22, At the end of this audit the post office was closed there and then, and I was threatened
with criminal proceedings if I did not pay the money back.
23. I was terrified. My mind was all over the place, My only thought was that I had to avoid
any charges for the sake of my family and my reputation even though I was completely
innocent. I borrowed the money from my brother to pay off the Post Office.
SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION
24. Even though I paid the shortfall I was suspended. My assistant Tor o}was put in place
as a temporary subpostmaster by Post Office Ltd although I was still liable for the rent
and other expenditure.
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25. I was offered redundancy in 2009, which I accepted as I could not face working in the
shop again after the awful experience. The redundancy offered me a way out as it was
costing me money to keep the post office open.
26. Post Office Ltd downgraded their post office services to a mobile shop counter, which
still was not working out any better. We still had the retail shop but with all the
rumours circulating in the village about how we had stolen money from them,
customers stopped coming into the shop. The business eventually became unviable,
and we sold it at a loss in 2011.
HISTORICAL SHORTFALL SCHEME
27. In around August 2021 I applied to the Post Office’s Historical Shortfall Scheme to seek
some compensation for my losses. The Post Office Scheme was very complex and it
made no provision for the cost of legal assistance in making the application. I therefore
had to make the application myself, after consulting with my accountant. With my
accountant’s advice, I submitted a claim for around £1.2 million. My application was
calculated from shortfall payments, loss of profits, loss of earnings, loss of property
and the effect on my health and wellbeing.
28. The Post Office finally responded to my application on 31 March 2022, making an offer
of £24,512.24. This was a tiny proportion of my own estimate of my losses.
29. In their letter the Post Office have offered a “good faith meeting” with their legal
representatives, Herbert Smith Freehills, to discuss any concerns I have with the Post
Office’s offer.
30. However, after I have been so badly let down by the Post Office previously and now
in the Historic Shortfall Scheme process, I do not feel that Post Office is capable of
engaging with SPMss in “good faith”.
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31.1 believe that the Post Office wishes to be able to say to Parliament, the public, and
now the Inquiry that it has made a great number of offers of compensation to
subpostmasters. However, the compensation scheme is so complex, so slow and the
offers so small that I do not believe that the Post Office has learned anything from this
scandal, and is still determined to treat subpostmasters as a nuisance, and not decent
people who have been ruined by them.
32. I am unable to exhibit the correspondence I have received from the Post Office on the
Historical Shortfall Scheme as they have marked it as “Without Prejudice”.
HUMAN IMPACT
33. I have struggled to put into words what all this did to me and my family.
34.1 had never done anything wrong in my life, but was made to feel as though I had
committed fraud. This was made more personal because it was supposedly against
the people within my community.
35.1 was very close to my neighbours in the community and I felt a commitment to
provide the postal service to them, so to have my honesty to that community
questioned was profoundly hurtful.
36. Our property which was attached to the post office was repossessed. Although we had
never lived in that house, as it was a buy to let property. We could not find anyone to
rent the house, possibly because of my damaged reputation, and we could not keep
up the repayments.
37. Fortunately, I have not been made bankrupt. I have an arrangement plan in place until
Post Office compensates me for my losses. However, I have lost my home, my
business, my future.
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38. We moved out of our family home and into my parent’s house. As an adult with my
own family, this was demoralising.
39. Thankfully, I had a great deal of support from my family and my close friends.
However, I was slandered in the village. My community was very tight-knit and I had
been in a prominent person as the subpostmaster, so my husband and I felt a great
deal of stigma when rumours of me being dishonest started to spread.
40. The ordeal that the Post Office put me through caused a lot of anguish, which led me
to suffer anxiety and depression. I suffered chest pains from the stress and
experienced weight gain. My husband was also very stressed and developed high
blood pressure.
41. My self-esteem, pride, dignity and health were affected, and continue to be. I am not
the same bubbly person I once was. I will be forever changed by this.
CONCLUSION
42.1 feel very let down by Post Office. I would like those responsible within Post Office
Ltd to pay for what they have done to me, my family and other honest people.
43.1 feel Post Office Ltd need to be held accountable for all the lives they have ruined.
STATEMENT OF TRUTH
I believe the contents of this statement to be true.
Dated: 7 /s f22
Fiona Elliott
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