Former sub postmaster's compensation 'ridiculous'

A former post office branch manager who "lost everything" in the wake of the Horizon scandal has described the compensation he received as "utterly insulting." David Farry, who ran a post office in Ferryhill, County Durham, was pursued through the civil courts by the Post Office for shortfalls that were not of his making.

He received his compensation offer on Monday, but he says the sum is far below what he claimed and that he will not accept it. The government has said they have "more than tripled the total compensation." Mr. Farry said: "I am absolutely traumatized, it's just mental torture."

Mr. Farry had originally hoped to receive a substantial sum of money that would support him until retirement age and provide some security for his children. However, he said the compensation he received was "well below" 50% of the amount he claimed. He said: "It's absolutely insulting, it's an insult to people's intelligence, and it took me about 30 seconds to digest the offer and make a decision."

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said that if scheme applicants believe they deserve more compensation, they should consult their legal advisors to appeal, which will be overseen by an independent panel of experts. Mr. Farry bought the Ferryhill Post Office in 2000 and ran it with his former wife, who became the branch manager.

He said that problems with the Horizon system began to appear within weeks, when a deficit of £1,380 arose. Mr. Farry said: "It just kept going on and on. You'd find you'd ring the Horizon helpline and you got no help whatsoever." He became the branch manager after his marriage ended. The shortfalls persisted, and Mr. Farry said his solicitor advised him not to sign the cash declaration sheets.

"Luckily, looking back now, I think if I had signed the cash declaration sheets, they would have taken me to court and prosecuted me," he said. He was still pursued through the civil courts, and his property was civilly charged for the shortfalls. Mr. Farry said: "I went into the Post Office with an un-mortgaged property and a reasonably good lifestyle."

"I left the Post Office with absolutely nothing, I was sofa-surfing, begging and borrowing from family and friends – it was horrendous. There was no help, there was no support, you couldn't challenge anything, it was absolutely devastating – I lost everything." Mr. Farry said the way the compensation scheme is being managed is "unacceptable." He also added that even though he and his wife ran the post office together for 12 years, he is unable to claim for this period of time, which is "unfair."

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: "We recognise the suffering that Horizon scandal victims like David have faced. Under this government, we have more than tripled the total compensation available to provide postmasters with full and fair redress and have made 410 offers to GLO claimants who have submitted a full claim, out of 431 applications."