Post Office scandal victim's compensation offer rises by almost 900pc
A Post Office scandal victim has seen his compensation offer rise by almost 900 per cent after he rejected a payout of £51,200.
Bob Stevenson, 81, and his wife Carol, 72, have spent the past two decades living in a council house after he was suspended over a £10,000 shortfall which was recorded incorrectly in his branch accounts in 2002.
The pensioner has now been awarded £502,000 – almost 10 times what he was offered in 2023 – when he attempted to apply for a payout without legal advice.
On Tuesday, Neil Hudgell, his solicitor, told The Telegraph that his client would accept the offer as an 'interim payment' but he would be 'fighting for more' and that he believed Mr Stevenson was entitled to a further £100,000.
More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted between 1999 and 2015, when Fujitsu's faulty Horizon software incorrectly recorded shortfalls on their branch accounts.
A public inquiry into the scandal finished hearing evidence in December 2024, and a full report is expected to be published this year.
In the meantime, victims of the scandal are still fighting for financial redress, with campaigners and lawyers arguing that some of the clients have died while waiting for payouts.
'We deserve something to look forward to'
Mr Stevenson's suspension from his position at the East Fellgate branch led to the loss of his family home and eventual bankruptcy.
Mr Stevenson said: 'We lost our business which we'd bought for more than £100,000, we'd lost our house, and my son lost everything as he'd given up a managerial position to come and run our shop, which we also lost.'
He added: 'We've had to scrape by the best we could ever since, but this compensation has enabled us to go out and buy our own two-bedroomed bungalow, having spent the past two decades, since this all happened to us, in a council house. The money landed in my account at midday, and I'd spent most of it on a new home for us a couple of hours later.
'I'm 81 and my wife is 72, and we deserve something to look forward to and somewhere to enjoy the rest of our days. We're now moving back just around the corner from the house we had, and had to sell, when we lost the Post Office.'
'He will be fighting for more'
As of April 30, approximately £964 million has been paid to more than 6,800 claimants across four compensation schemes.
Last month, the Government launched a new independent appeals process for those claiming through the Horizon shortfall scheme (HSS).
However, the HSS scheme and others have continued to attract criticism from unhappy victims and lawyers.
Earlier this month, The Telegraph revealed that Post Office staff who pursued victims in the Horizon IT scandal were still working in departments handling the falsely accused sub-postmasters' compensation claims.
Sir Alan Bates, the former sub-postmaster who played a leading role in the campaign for justice for the Horizon victims, described the staff's involvement as ' without a doubt a conflict of interest '.
It is understood Mr Stevenson's offer was increased following the inclusion of additional information in his application.
Speaking to The Telegraph about his client's claim, Mr Hudgell, of Hudgell Solicitors, said: 'It's a fairly common problem. What we see is that people who have settled directly have been undercompensated and I don't believe Mr Stevenson is an exception to the rule.
'I actually believe his experience is likely to be replicated across many other people.'
Mr Hudgell added: 'He will accept it as an interim payment, but he will be fighting for more because it's just not enough.
'I would not be surprised if there was another additional six-figure sum – at least another £100,000 in my view.'
A Post Office spokesman said: 'We, like everyone else, want to see full and fair redress paid to victims of the Horizon IT Scandal, and are doing everything we can to ensure this happens as quickly as possible.
'Post Office recommends that applicants take independent legal advice before accepting their offers in the Horizon shortfall scheme, and we will pay for this advice.
'We welcome Mr Stevenson's increased redress offer and would like to encourage those eligible to come forward to apply for redress if they have not already done so.'
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) will formally take over responsibility for redress for postmasters with overturned convictions on June 3 2025.
A DBT spokesperson said: 'We recognise the suffering that Bob and other victims of the Horizon scandal have endured and we welcome his increased redress offer.
'We recently launched an appeal mechanism in the Horizon shortfall scheme for postmasters who are unhappy with their offer, which will include providing free independent legal advice to help them challenge their offer and reach a final outcome.'
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