May 2015
JFSA update 14th May 2015
The Initial Complaint Review & Mediation Scheme
In Post Office’s mind, it is in the process of closing the Scheme down. In the last few months it has got rid of the Working Group because of the questions Post Office were not prepared to answer at meetings, which had the added bonus of removing a very senior and highly respect judge from seeing the paperwork that was emerging. Furthermore Post Office’s action has, for the second time, removed JFSA’s access to the Scheme’s case documentation thereby denying JFSA its agreed right of being able to assist its membership with their cases. Post Office has further compounded this wrong by refusing to allow Second Sight to directly send to JFSA, a copy of the full set of case documentation that it sends to Post Office for sending on to the Applicant, despite the Applicant putting in writing a request for this to happen.
Why did JFSA suggest that such a request be made directly to Second Sight? Quite simply it was because it does not trust Post Office to send on the full Second Sight case pack without it sifting and removing documents before they are sent on to Applicants. It now looks as if this has occurred in at least one case, and as JFSA has been removed from accessing case documentation we cannot be certain how many other cases this may also have occurred in.
Post Office has also written to many (if not all) of the Applicants in the Scheme who were prosecuted by Post Office, to inform them that it will not go to a mediation meeting with them. This is despite the original Scheme documentation stating that all those Applicants could do so, in the response to the question:-
What if my case involves a completed criminal prosecution or conviction?
You may put your case through the Scheme even if you have already received a Police caution or have been subject to a criminal prosecution or conviction.
If Post Office had no intention of going to a mediation meeting with these Applicants, why did it not say so at the outset, instead of misleading these people?
As has been mentioned in previous emails, the original intention of finding the truth is so far from Post Office’s agenda these days, having been replaced by the key priority of running the Scheme into the ground by throwing public money at their lawyers. Post Office appears to be set on full speed self-destruction and its Board and Executive are going to be responsible for destroying a brand that used to be held in high regard by so many. But with its own destruction so high on its agenda, it now looks as if we are going to have to help it on its way, which was never our intention.
Of those few mediation meetings that we are aware of taking place, we are being told by Applicants that these meetings are worse than disastrous as Post Office does not understand what a mediation meeting is all about, and is treating it as an opportunity to blame individuals, pointing out it is all their fault (where have you heard that before?).
Due to the present conditions Post Office has created, it is now JFSA’s official position that the Initial Complaint Review & Mediation Scheme has been so badly abused and ruined by Post Office that it is not fit for purpose. Furthermore, and whilst it is up to every individual in the Scheme to make their own decision, JFSA is recommending that all Applicants should now defer attending any mediation meetings until such time as a true and honest scheme is in operation, and no longer an exercise in highly paid lawyers dancing on the head of a pin. JFSA is also recommending that we should show our support to those who have been led on by Post Office, and require that all in the Scheme who were prosecuted should be allowed to attend a mediation meeting of a new and honest scheme, just as they were promised at the outset.
It is now abundantly clear that Post Office cannot be trusted or believed, and the only way that the truth is going to be unearthed is when the government instigates a totally independent investigation of Post Office and the events surrounding the Horizon system and this Scheme. This now has to be our number one priority to campaign for, and it is up to every one of you to do your bit.
The disgust that the MPs have for Post Office over this issue is well known. Now that there has been a change in government we all need to revisit our MPs and inform them of the latest developments and what we need them to do for us.
The message is simple – Post Office has to be independently investigated and we will keep stepping up our campaign until this happens.
The nonsense that Post Office bleats on about incidents only affecting a very small number of Subpostmasters is a myth that has to be exposed, because the reality is, that it affects all Subpostmasters to a varying degree. This can be clearly seen in the many new cases that JFSA has become aware of outside of the 12 weeks the window was open for applications to the Initial Complaint Review & Mediation Scheme.
MPs have to be reminded that owning a post office turns you into a financial hostage. They have to understand that so little is heard from the majority of serving Subpostmasters purely because of their own self-preservation. Explain that when taking on a post office a Subpostmaster can often pay the outgoing Subpostmaster an amount for the post office element that is usually a multiple of that post offices’ annual “office salary” from Post Office, often 1½ or 2 times. It is this amount that becomes a financial gun which Post Office can hold to a Subpostmasters’ head, as it can use a clause in the contract, which states that Post Office can terminate a Subpostmaster by giving three months’ notice and without giving a reason. This, the Post Office can and does do, without compensating that Subpostmaster for the loss of what they had paid to the previous Subpostmaster for that element of the business, and the Subpostmaster has no independent appeal other than to pursue Post Office through the courts, which is financial suicide.
The totally unfair Subpostmaster contract, which many Subpostmasters never get to see before accepting the post, leaves Post Office in a position whereby they can try to control Subpostmasters with the threat of terminating the contract. It is this key point which explains why so few serving Subpostmasters are reluctant to rock the boat and speak out, yet it does explain why so many sub post offices are always up for sale.
If you decide to withdraw from the Initial Complaint Review & Mediation Scheme until such time as you receive an independent assurance that any replacement scheme is now fair and honest, ask your Professional Advisor to write to Post Office on your behalf to let them know. Then go and see your MP about your decision and tell them of your reasons and let them see copies of your correspondence from Post Office and Second Sight. You need to make sure that your MP is fully up to speed with what has happened to you before mid-June, when we will be looking for their support in Westminster.
The Initial Complaint Review & Mediation Scheme
In Post Office’s mind, it is in the process of closing the Scheme down. In the last few months it has got rid of the Working Group because of the questions Post Office were not prepared to answer at meetings, which had the added bonus of removing a very senior and highly respect judge from seeing the paperwork that was emerging. Furthermore Post Office’s action has, for the second time, removed JFSA’s access to the Scheme’s case documentation thereby denying JFSA its agreed right of being able to assist its membership with their cases. Post Office has further compounded this wrong by refusing to allow Second Sight to directly send to JFSA, a copy of the full set of case documentation that it sends to Post Office for sending on to the Applicant, despite the Applicant putting in writing a request for this to happen.
Why did JFSA suggest that such a request be made directly to Second Sight? Quite simply it was because it does not trust Post Office to send on the full Second Sight case pack without it sifting and removing documents before they are sent on to Applicants. It now looks as if this has occurred in at least one case, and as JFSA has been removed from accessing case documentation we cannot be certain how many other cases this may also have occurred in.
Post Office has also written to many (if not all) of the Applicants in the Scheme who were prosecuted by Post Office, to inform them that it will not go to a mediation meeting with them. This is despite the original Scheme documentation stating that all those Applicants could do so, in the response to the question:-
What if my case involves a completed criminal prosecution or conviction?
You may put your case through the Scheme even if you have already received a Police caution or have been subject to a criminal prosecution or conviction.
If Post Office had no intention of going to a mediation meeting with these Applicants, why did it not say so at the outset, instead of misleading these people?
As has been mentioned in previous emails, the original intention of finding the truth is so far from Post Office’s agenda these days, having been replaced by the key priority of running the Scheme into the ground by throwing public money at their lawyers. Post Office appears to be set on full speed self-destruction and its Board and Executive are going to be responsible for destroying a brand that used to be held in high regard by so many. But with its own destruction so high on its agenda, it now looks as if we are going to have to help it on its way, which was never our intention.
Of those few mediation meetings that we are aware of taking place, we are being told by Applicants that these meetings are worse than disastrous as Post Office does not understand what a mediation meeting is all about, and is treating it as an opportunity to blame individuals, pointing out it is all their fault (where have you heard that before?).
Due to the present conditions Post Office has created, it is now JFSA’s official position that the Initial Complaint Review & Mediation Scheme has been so badly abused and ruined by Post Office that it is not fit for purpose. Furthermore, and whilst it is up to every individual in the Scheme to make their own decision, JFSA is recommending that all Applicants should now defer attending any mediation meetings until such time as a true and honest scheme is in operation, and no longer an exercise in highly paid lawyers dancing on the head of a pin. JFSA is also recommending that we should show our support to those who have been led on by Post Office, and require that all in the Scheme who were prosecuted should be allowed to attend a mediation meeting of a new and honest scheme, just as they were promised at the outset.
It is now abundantly clear that Post Office cannot be trusted or believed, and the only way that the truth is going to be unearthed is when the government instigates a totally independent investigation of Post Office and the events surrounding the Horizon system and this Scheme. This now has to be our number one priority to campaign for, and it is up to every one of you to do your bit.
The disgust that the MPs have for Post Office over this issue is well known. Now that there has been a change in government we all need to revisit our MPs and inform them of the latest developments and what we need them to do for us.
The message is simple – Post Office has to be independently investigated and we will keep stepping up our campaign until this happens.
The nonsense that Post Office bleats on about incidents only affecting a very small number of Subpostmasters is a myth that has to be exposed, because the reality is, that it affects all Subpostmasters to a varying degree. This can be clearly seen in the many new cases that JFSA has become aware of outside of the 12 weeks the window was open for applications to the Initial Complaint Review & Mediation Scheme.
MPs have to be reminded that owning a post office turns you into a financial hostage. They have to understand that so little is heard from the majority of serving Subpostmasters purely because of their own self-preservation. Explain that when taking on a post office a Subpostmaster can often pay the outgoing Subpostmaster an amount for the post office element that is usually a multiple of that post offices’ annual “office salary” from Post Office, often 1½ or 2 times. It is this amount that becomes a financial gun which Post Office can hold to a Subpostmasters’ head, as it can use a clause in the contract, which states that Post Office can terminate a Subpostmaster by giving three months’ notice and without giving a reason. This, the Post Office can and does do, without compensating that Subpostmaster for the loss of what they had paid to the previous Subpostmaster for that element of the business, and the Subpostmaster has no independent appeal other than to pursue Post Office through the courts, which is financial suicide.
The totally unfair Subpostmaster contract, which many Subpostmasters never get to see before accepting the post, leaves Post Office in a position whereby they can try to control Subpostmasters with the threat of terminating the contract. It is this key point which explains why so few serving Subpostmasters are reluctant to rock the boat and speak out, yet it does explain why so many sub post offices are always up for sale.
If you decide to withdraw from the Initial Complaint Review & Mediation Scheme until such time as you receive an independent assurance that any replacement scheme is now fair and honest, ask your Professional Advisor to write to Post Office on your behalf to let them know. Then go and see your MP about your decision and tell them of your reasons and let them see copies of your correspondence from Post Office and Second Sight. You need to make sure that your MP is fully up to speed with what has happened to you before mid-June, when we will be looking for their support in Westminster.