Four not-for-profit post office services on the Isle of Wight are at risk of closure following disputed financial shortfalls recorded by the Horizon Post Office IT system.
Island Community Ventures, the trading arm of charity Community Action Isle of Wight, is facing similar difficulties to those seen with other post office services across the country, with the Post Office citing discrepancies in transactions and stocktaking managed through the Horizon system.
Ongoing independent inquiry
The Post Office is calling for a repayment of sums of over £20,000. This comes at a time when an independent inquiry into the scandal is ongoing in London.
Director of Island Community Ventures and CEO of Community Action Isle of Wight, Mike Bulpitt, said,
“We seem to be in a position where we are at the mercy of a computer system that is simply not working properly.”
Gould: Post Office Limited appears to have learned nothing
Nick Gould, Partner at Aria Grace Law, added,
“I can’t believe Post Office Limited appears to have learned nothing during the last twenty years since the first prosecutions.
“For them to still be requiring people to somehow prove their own system is faulty is beyond belief.”
Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely said the situation is “very concerning” and hoped the issue could be resolved quickly.
Bulpitt: A tough ask financially
Mike added,
“Running post offices in rural areas is a tough ask financially and certainly not a profit making venture, so to now also face this situation is totally disheartening and is creating stress and anxiety for our staff.”
