'Will there be accountability?': Victims of the Post Office scandal question if they'll get justice
Francis Maye, Tracy McFadden, Shane Johnson and Sally Stringer have all shared their stories on what happened to them after using the Horizon system as sub-postmasters.
It comes as the first volume of the final report for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry had high expectations to deliver the appropriate findings for former sub-postmasters, whose lives were destroyed by the British Post Office scandal.
Chairman Sir Wyn Williams said 'a number of senior' people at the organisation were aware the system, known as Legacy Horizon, was capable of error up until it was changed in 2010, with a number of employees also aware the updated system, Horizon Online, also had bugs and defects.
At least 59 people who experienced problems with the Post Office's Horizon IT system contemplated suicide, the first tranche of a public inquiry's final report has concluded.
Lead campaigner and former sub-postmistress Jo Hamilton has said the Post Office Inquiry final report 'shows the full scale of the horror that they unleashed on us'.
The widely-anticipated report has been most eagerly awaited by the former sub-postmasters, who had been wrongly prosecuted or faced financial turmoil due to the flawed Horizon IT system.
Today the Post Office has apologised unreservedly for the suffering which Post Office caused to postmasters saying their experiences represent a "shameful period in our history".
Here at ITV News Central we have been speaking to people in our region who have been affected and they told us the impact it's had on their lives.
FRANCIS MAYE
Francis Maye bought a Post Office branch at Bidford Upon Avon in Warwickshire in March 2011. He ran it with his wife Veronica.
He had bought the Post Office for £77,000 as part of his retirement plan, but within weeks those plans began to unravel when shortfalls suddenly started appearing in their accounts.
Francis said: "It started off with small amounts. And I started to think this might be human error because it was only my wife and I.
"And then it started to get bigger and bigger. Then when it went into the hundreds of pounds I thought there's something wrong here."
Francis was convinced the problem lay with Horizon - the Post Office's new computer system. But he wasn't listened to.
The couple took out loans, extended their overdraft, maxed out their credit cards and borrowed money from family.
In 2010 Francis was told by his local area manager he was being suspended.
They had to hand over the keys to their branch. Furthermore, false rumours had spread in the village that Francis had been arrested for theft and fraud.
In 2012 Francis was declared bankrupt. The couple lost their home and were forced to sell their business.
The strain also took a toll on the couple's physical and mental health.
Francis was diagnosed with diabetes, later developed prostate cancer and now struggles with anxiety. His wife Veronica developed angina and in 2023 died after three weeks in a coma.
TRACY McFADDEN
Tracy McFadden ran a post office at Sandiacre in Derbyshire for 14 years, but her dream plan for retirement horribly unravelled when Horizon was installed.
In a scene recreated in the ITV Drama Mr Bates versus the Post Office, in one instance Tracy rang the Horizon helpline for guidance over a discrepancy of £1,000, only to see the disputed sum double to £2,000, then £4,000, then finally £16,000.
To plug the financial shortfalls Tracy had to borrow money from family, and take out loans and credit cards.
At one point opening her front door to find debt collectors outside. When her contract was terminated by the Post Office in 2014, it wasn't just the money she lost, but also her good name.
She said: "I've been stabbed in the back terribly and it's about time that knife came out.
"I want to turn round and face those people. And I'm more than happy to do that. And that's what I want ... and I need."
SHANE JOHNSON
Shane Johnson took over the Kirkby-in-Ashfield Post Office branch in 2003, he had big plans. For four years all went well until the Post Office insisted he take over the contract to run a new cashpoint at the branch.
The machine was linked to the now discredited Horizon IT system and it wasn't long before the problems began.
He told ITV News Central: "Within weeks we suffered a catastrophic loss. Things had been linked to the main computer which had never been linked to our computers before.
"So to us that was the fault. But the Post Office didn't accept that as being the fault. They said: "No. You've stolen the money."
To cover the constant losses, Shane ran up a huge overdraft, and had to plunder his savings.
At the time he was a single father-of-two and the strain soon took its toll on family life. Something to this day that brings up feelings of guilt and remorse.
Having sold the business at a loss, and adding up loss of future earnings, Shane estimates he's out of pocket by around £665,000.
He's since reached a settlement with the Post Office, but has little faith that those who caused him and his family so much pain, will ever truly be held accountable.
Shane's pessimistic when it comes to the inquiry finding justice: "Will it ever be put right? I personally don't think so. Will there ever be any accountability? I don't think so.
"Will compensation ever be fair and reasonable? I don't think so."
SALLY STRINGER
Having owned several successful businesses Sally & Geoffrey Stringer thought running a Post Office would be a sound financial move.
So when the small village branch at Beckford on the Worcestershire-Gloucestershire border became available it seemed a perfect fit.
Sally said: "It would be hundreds of pounds. It could be thousands of pounds. We balanced at the end of the first month and the stock was down by double what it should be.
"So we'd got an automatic deficit of about £4,500 which is the value of the stock to start with .. What?! .. So we knew that was a problem. There was an issue."
Eventually - worn down by stress, burdened with debt and fearful of criminal prosecution, the couple sold the shop.
The toll on their physical and mental wellbeing though continues to this day.
She said: "I still cannot and will not forgive Post Office Ltd until justice is done.
"I would like them to financially pay back every bonus, redundancy payment they're received so they know actually what it's like to have financial hardship."
A statement from The Post Office said: 'The Inquiry has brought to life the devastating stories of those impacted by the Horizon Scandal. Their experiences represent a shameful period in our history.
"Today, we apologise unreservedly for the suffering which Post Office caused to postmasters and their loved ones. We will carefully consider the report and its recommendations.'
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