Like hundreds of others, Tony Downey’s dream of running a rural Post Office turned into a nightmare.
Continuing shortfalls in his branch accounts – caused by the faulty Horizon accounting system – led to him losing his livelihood, declaring himself bankrupt and suffering from crippling anxiety and depression.
Such was the impact on life, he and his wife Caroline moved abroad, feeling they could no longer live in a community which believed him to be a thief.
Seventeen years on, they have been living off his incapacity benefit in rented accommodation in Spain, as he has never been able to face working again. So when a letter landed on his doormat from the Post Office last summer offering compensation, he felt he was finally beginning to secure some form of redress.
That was until he read on.
The Post Office only offered to pay him £10,000 for his personal suffering, with the rest going to the Official Receiver to pay off bankruptcy debts.
Read Tony’s client story: ‘Post Office took thousands from us – now we’re being denied proper compensation because it won’t admit causing us to go bankrupt’
Tony told his story to BBC Breakfast News: Post Office scandal: £10k payout ‘cruel’, says bankrupt victim
