Latest news with #financialredress
Japan Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Panel urges Fujitsu to help victims of U.K. post office scandal
An independent panel investigating the British post office scandal involving a faulty accounting system developed by Fujitsu has urged the Japanese firm, the British government and others to take relief measures for wrongly convicted post office workers. The panel set up by the British government recommended financial redress measures should be taken promptly for some 10,000 eligible claimants. It called for an outline of the measures to be submitted by the end of October. In its report released Tuesday, the panel concluded the redress measures for postmasters and other victims have been insufficient and need sizable improvement. It also stressed the need for affording opportunities for the victims to receive legal advice and for providing financial redress to close family members who suffered serious adverse consequences. The panel proposed setting up a permanent public body to handle the redress measures in a unified manner. In a statement issued Tuesday, Fujitsu showed its readiness to discuss its response to the recommendations and reiterated its deep regret and apology. In the scandal, accounting errors occurred at post offices across Britain that had introduced Fujitsu's Horizon accounting system between 1999 and 2015. The scandal led to indictments of more than 700 people, including post office chiefs. It was later discovered that the problem was caused by a flaw in the accounting system. In 2024, guilty sentences against falsely accused victims were reversed and a compensation law was enacted. A total of approximately £1.09 billion in compensation had been paid to more than 7,900 victims by the end of June.
The Independent
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Minister vows to speed up redress payments for LGBT veterans
A minister has promised to speed up efforts to give financial redress to LGBT veterans who faced mistreatment in the armed forces. The £75 million redress scheme was set up in December, offering payments of up to £70,000 to veterans to 'acknowledge the historic wrongs they experienced in the armed forces'. LGBT people in the military were abused, assaulted and dishonourably discharged without pay, and went on to suffer lifelong consequences after their sexuality was discovered in the pre-2000 era. Al Carns, the veterans minister, has promised to increase the number of staff processing applications by five, effectively doubling the size of the team, after MPs highlighted delays that veterans were facing in a Westminster Hall debate. He also pledged a new automated payments scheme would be rolled out, after telling MPs that problems with the system were a 'key reason' for delays. Mr Carns also said the independent panel overseeing the financial redress scheme would double its sittings to two per week to speed up review cases which need to be assessed. The veterans minister said: 'We deeply regret the treatment of LGBT serving personnel between 1967 and 2000 which was wholly unacceptable. 'We have been prioritising payments to the elderly and those with serious health conditions to ensure they receive support as quickly as possible. 'We're taking decisive action to ensure LGBT veterans receive the recognition they deserve by increasing staff resources, implementing an automated payment system, and doubling panel reviews. 'This scheme acknowledges the sacrifices of those who faced discrimination while serving. I urge all affected veterans to apply through the portal as we remain fully committed to implementing Lord Etherton's recommendations, and righting these historic wrongs, as part of our Government's commitment to renew the nation's contract with those who have served.' Fighting With Pride, a charity which advocates for the former personnel, said only 84 veterans out of 1,300 who have applied for the financial payment have been paid so far. At the Westminster Hall debate, Mr Carns elaborated on the number of applications the Government had received. He told MPs the Government had 'received many applications for the scheme' as of July 7 – 944 of which were submitted online and 162 received as hard-copy applications. Mr Carns added: 'The first payments were made just 15 weeks after the scheme's official launch and I am pleased to report that we have now paid over £4.2 million in total in the redress scheme. 'There were payments to 84 applicants for the dismissed or discharged payment, with each applicant receiving over £50,000. Additionally, we have made £82,000 in impact payments to 11 applicants, ranging from £1,000 to £2,000. I see the scheme speeding up considerably in the not-so-distant future.'
The Herald
22-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Store account add-ons, ‘lack of due care' car claims among top disputes for consumers
The life division of the NFO finalised 5,977 cases in 2024. The total amount recovered was R202.8m. Denise Gabriels, lead ombud: life division, said funeral benefits remained the product most complained about, accounting for 45% of complaints. The most common causes for complaints were claims being declined; at 56%; followed by poor service or administration, at 34%. Of the five life insurance companies that received the most complaints: 628 formal cases were opened against Old Mutual Life Assurance Company, representing 18% of all complaints opened; Liberty Group Limited had 399 formal cases opened, representing 11%; Hollard Life Insurance Company had 259 cases, representing 7%; Metropolitan Life had 216 cases; and Sanlam Life Insurance Ltd had 188 cases opened. Credit The credit division of the NFO successfully closed 2,040 cases, achieving positive outcomes for complainants in 49% of cases. This resulted in financial redress totalling R2.35m. The highest number of cases were opened with: the Retail Credit Solutions (RCS) Group, which had the highest number of cases opened, totalling 243, representing 17% of all cases opened; Opco 365 had 133 cases opened, representing 9% of all cases opened; Edcon Limited had 126 cases opened, 9% of all cases opened; and DMC Debt Management had 121 cases opened, 9% of all cases opened. Findings in favour of complainants totalled 44%. Howard Gabriels, lead ombud: credit division, said two matters that stood out with a number of retailers for their systemic impact during the reporting period were: value-added services (VAS); and minimum payment calculations. 'A serious concern emerged regarding the application of payments on credit accounts where VAS charges (such as airtime or insurance add-ons) were not considered in determining the minimum monthly payments,' he said.
The Independent
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
More than £1 billion paid to those wronged by Horizon scandal, Government says
More than £1 billion has been paid in financial redress to subpostmasters wronged by the Horizon IT scandal, the Government has said. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said money has now been paid out to more than 7,300 subpostmasters across all Horizon-related redress schemes. The announcement comes just weeks after lead campaigner and former subpostmaster Sir Alan Bates said the schemes had 'turned into quasi-kangaroo courts'. Sir Alan told the Sunday Times last month that DBT 'sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses'. Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 subpostmasters were prosecuted after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts. Many are still awaiting compensation. In figures published on Monday, DBT said £559 million has been paid out to 6,337 claimants from the Horizon shortfall scheme. The data also says that of the 555 people who joined Sir Alan Bates in taking the Post Office to court between 2017 and 2019, also known as the Group Litigation Order Scheme (GLO), 488 have received £167 million between them. Elsewhere, £245 million has been paid out to 463 subpostmasters who had their convictions quashed by legislation put in place last summer, and £68 million has been paid to those who have had their convictions quashed in the courts, DBT said. Post Office minister Gareth Thomas said: 'Since entering Government, it has been our priority to speed up the delivery of compensation to victims of the Horizon scandal and today's milestone shows how much progress has been made. 'We are settling cases every day and getting compensation out more quickly for the most complex cases, but the job isn't done until every postmaster has received fair and just redress.' Post Office chief executive Neil Brocklehurst said: 'I welcome the news that over £1 billion has been paid to victims of the Horizon IT Scandal. 'Each week we are seeing more people receive their final settlements so they can begin to look beyond this painful chapter of their lives. 'However, I am also aware that more work remains to be done so that all victims receive full redress as quickly as possible and this is an absolute priority for the Post Office. 'And finally, to anyone else who thinks they may have been affected, I encourage you to come forward and apply for redress.'
