A lawyer representing a victim of the Post Office Horizon scandal who is set to receive more than £200,000 compensation says his case has taken ‘two years too long’ to reach this stage – and that the settlement offered is ‘still too little’ given the suffering he has endured.
Francis Duff, 81, was forced out of business due to continuing shortfalls in his Post Office branch, caused by the faulty Horizon accounting system. It led to the breakdown of his marriage and him declaring himself bankrupt.
The Post Office took two years to calculate his claim for damages to be worth more than £330,000.
Of that, until very recently he had only received just £8,000, with the rest being distributed to the Official Receiver to pay off historic debts.
Problems led to breakdown of marriage and bankruptcy
Mr Duff’s case replicates many others being told as the full scale of the scandal has emerged this year, following the ITV drama, Mr Bates v The Post Office, raising public awareness, and awakening the Government conscience.
He had been a postmaster since 1981 but began having problems at his Easby Road Post Office in Liverpool when the Horizon computer system was installed, shortly after the Millennium.
I would estimate that I spent an additional four hours every Wednesday trying to identify the root of the shortfalls and rectify the issues. Sometimes it would take even longer. I rarely had any success.
Shortfalls arose almost every week and ranged from £30 to £200. Overall, I would conservatively estimate the shortfalls to have been in the region of £16,500. I continued using my own salary to repay the Horizon shortfalls in cash.
When I did manage to speak to anybody at the Post Office regarding the issues I was facing, I was repeatedly told that I was the only person having difficulties. It made me feel like an idiot.
My relationship with my wife started to suffer. We had been happily married for 34 years, but we started to have regular arguments about the losses. She began to suspect my staff of stealing. I did not agree. My staff were honest and trustworthy.
She encouraged me to sack staff. I refused and she told me that I was ‘not man enough’. We separated while I was still working for Post Office and, eventually divorced. I had to hire two extra part-time staff members, which meant I had to pay even more out in staff wages.
Mr Duff resigned from the Post Office, which was then sold.
I was declared bankrupt just two months after my resignation. I had no other option. The Post Office was sold and the proceeds went directly to the bankruptcy estate, as did my share in the value of the marital home. I believe both were sold at under value, but when I enquired as to the sale price, I was told that it was none of my business.
I did not see a penny of the money. I have been forced to rent ever since. There have been many times since that I have felt very low. I felt that I had lost everything; my marriage of 34 years had broken down and a business I had put my heart and soul into for 21 years had disintegrated.
I was put on anti-depressant medication and I isolated myself from my family as a result of my divorce. I thought it was important for my ex-wife to have a relationship with my daughters and did not wish for us to clash.
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The process has been ‘way too slow’
Now, a further 16 months on from the initial damages offer received from the Post Office in October 2022, he has been told more than £200,000 will be returned to him, as only a small number of debtors came forward to lay stake to the funds.
However, his solicitor Neil Hudgell says it is still too little, and that it has taken far too long to reach this stage.
“We see many examples similar to Mr Duff’s case. It is three-and-a-half years since he first applied for damages through the Post Office’s Historical Shortfall Scheme, so it has all been far too slow,” he said.
“In cases where subpostmasters were declared bankrupt, the bulk of any compensation they are offered must be released to the Official Receiver to distribute to historic creditors, so taking two years to get that initial offer to him is clearly unacceptable.
“Even then the offer was way too low, as whilst the Post Office admitted causing his bankruptcy, they did not include any offer of damages for the stigma and injury to feeling caused by the bankruptcy, which should typically be another £50,000.
“Had they offered that back in October 2022, he could have had that money along with the £8,000 that was paid then. That is a lot of money for a man who has had to struggle day to day.
“Added to that, damages of £200,000 is simply not reflective of the damage caused to his life, both financially and emotionally. It is expected to compensate him for losing many years of his life, his marriage, his mind, as well as his livelihood and his
“His life was quite simply destroyed by what happened to him, all caused by the Post Office, and he has been made to wait, and fight for every penny. He has faced an appalling battle for the compensation he deserves, and that fight is not yet over.”
Money will help ‘care for a good wife and mum’
Mr Duff says the compensation he is now finally due to receive will make a huge impact, as he says much will go to ensuring his ex-wife, who now has dementia, is properly cared for.
“Unfortunately my ex-wife is not well and suffers from dementia. She has carers come in to see her in the sheltered accommodation she is in, but going forward she will need much more care, and I can use this money to ensure she is comfortable and as happy as can be going forward,” he said.
“She was a good wife and a good mum, and I’ve not lost sight of the fact that this impacted hugely on her life too. It was the Post Office that drove a wedge between us.
“We had a happy marriage but all the problems caused by Horizon led to so many arguments and the breakdown of our relationship. I want to be there to help her and feel she should benefit from any compensation I receive.”
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