The Post Office is pushing postmasters to accept £75,000 compensation without legal advice. The Government needs to act quickly to fix this. Thread:
Our article on this, with copies of Post Office correspondence is here:
The Post Office scandal probably needs no introduction. But, in short, between 2000 and 2017, the Post Office falsely accused thousands of postmasters of theft. Some went to prison. Many had their assets seized and their reputations shredded.
The Post Office created the "HSS scheme" to pay compensation to about 2,750 postmasters who hadn't been prosecuted for theft, but had been required to repay "shortfalls".
But, by accident or design, the process for claiming compensation was complex and highly legal, and the Post Office didn't offer postmasters any legal assistance in putting their claim together.
So many postmasters ended up receiving derisory amounts - in one case as low as £15.75. And many received nothing at all.
Campaigning postmasters like Christopher Head @chrish9070 told the Post Office in 2023 that all the HSS settlements had to be reviewed. They were ignored, but kept pushing.
@chrish9070 Thanks to their efforts, and a subsequent recommendation from the independent Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, a new independent appeals process has been created by the Government for postmasters who feel their settlement was unfair.
@chrish9070 But there's a catch.
@chrish9070 Here's the letter the Post Office is sending Postmasters who were eligible under the HSS scheme.
@chrish9070 Postmasters have the option of receiving a fixed sum payment of £75,000, or can go through a full appeal assessment if they believe their losses are more than £75,000.
@chrish9070 Whether or not to accept the £75,000 is a difficult decision. A postmaster would need to carefully assess the losses they suffered, which requires detailed financial analysis...
@chrish9070 ... plus a legal assessment of appropriate level of damages for loss of reputation and stress. We believe that the legal costs for such an an exercise would be at least £10,000.
@chrish9070 How much is the Post Office offering to cover? Nothing.
@chrish9070 The Post Office will contribute towards postmasters' legal fees during any actual appeal, but will make no contribution for legal advice on the critical decision of whether to appeal.
@chrish9070 Most postmasters are elderly and vulnerable; only a few will have the resources to properly investigate if they could recover more than £75,000.
@chrish9070 They're being denied the chance to make a proper decision. There are cases where postmasters should be claiming hundreds of thousands of pounds - but without legal advice, we fear many will simply take the £75,000.
@chrish9070 It looks like, once more, the Post Office is choosing the path that minimises compensation.
@chrish9070 The Government should force the Post Office to do the right thing and cover postmasters' legal costs, at this initial stage as well as during the actual appeal process.