Clady woman who lost £1m in Post Office scandal vows to fight on

A FORMER Clady sub-postmistress has pledged to ‘fight till the end’ in her battle to recover the thousands of pounds of her own money lost as a result of the Post Office IT scandal.

Fiona Elliott, who purchased the local shop and post office with her husband in 2005, was among the more than 900 sub-postmasters affected by the faulty Horizon computer system, which falsely showed discrepancies in branch accounts. In Mrs Elliott’s case, these supposed shortfalls led her to use her own savings to plug gaps that never existed.

As a result, her total losses – including unpaid wages and the repossession of buy-to-let properties – are estimated to be around £1 million.

Despite applying for compensation five years ago, Mrs Elliott says she has only received 5 per-cent of what she believes she is entitled to. She has appealed the amount three times, all without success.

“I’m fighting to get this money, and it feels like I’m having to beg, much like other sub-postmasters,” she said. “I’ve wasted five years on a scheme that wasn’t going to pay me out anyway. You’re constantly begging with them and constantly appealing the decision, and its just going on too long. its like starting over again.”

Following the failed appeals, Mrs Elliott has now been advised to apply to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS). This scheme is designed for sub-postmasters who were not convicted or involved in the original court action, but who still experienced financial losses due to the Horizon system errors.

The Department for Business and Trade issued a statement acknowledging the hardship caused and pledged to take a compassionate approach in assessing claims.

“The benefit of the doubt will be given to postmasters due to a lack of evidence and the time that has passed,” the statement read. “Anyone unhappy with their offer can have their case reviewed by a panel of experts, independent of the government.”

However, Mrs Elliott says she has little confidence in the HSS delivering justice.

“I don’t think there are many who have received full and fair redress,” she continued. “I think many will end up taking a lower offer compared to what they are entitled as a result of just not wanting to fight any more. I’m sitting with a 5 per-cent offer at the moment and to get the 100 per-cent I want, it could end up a long road, but I’ll keep fighting.”