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Subpostmasters Have Lived for Years With Disputed Post Office Debts, Inquiry Told

The Horizon Inquiry heard that some subpostmasters had spent years with disputed Post Office account debts unresolved, despite receiving letters stating they had a debt.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read
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At a 26 September 2024 hearing of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, National Federation of SubPostmasters chief executive Calum Greenhow said some subpostmasters had spent years with disputed account shortfalls unresolved. He described letters telling people they had a debt, while stressing that the letters were not demands for payment, and called for the Post Office to reach open and transparent conclusions.

What did the inquiry hear about unresolved debts?

Greenhow gave evidence during Phase 7, which examined current Post Office practice and compensation. The inquiry’s hearing page lists him as an oral witness on 26 September 2024 and links to the transcript and his witness statement.

In contemporaneous coverage, Greenhow said subpostmasters were still reporting losses and receiving letters stating that they had a debt. He said some cases had been outstanding for years because they could not be brought to a conclusion. His point was about disputed account shortfalls and the lack of resolution—not a finding that every reported debt was invalid, or that any particular account had a specific cause.

The report quoted him as saying: “Subpostmasters are still explaining that they are experiencing losses – they receive a letter which is not a demand for money, but is [saying], ‘You’ve got a debt’. We need to be in a position where the Post Office are able to bring that to an open and transparent conclusion rather than just going on and on. Some of these cases have been outstanding for years because they can’t be brought to a conclusion.” This wording is from the contemporaneous report, including its editorial brackets; consult the official hearing transcript for the hearing record.

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What do the survey figures show—and what do they not show?

A YouGov survey commissioned by the inquiry, as reported by Computer Weekly in 2024, asked current subpostmasters about their experiences:

  • 57% said they had experienced unexplained shortfalls.
  • 19% reported unexplained transactions.
  • 14% said transactions had gone missing.
  • Three-quarters said they had used their own branch money to cover discrepancies or resolved the issue themselves.

These are respondents’ reported experiences, not determinations about individual accounts. The figures do not establish whether a particular debt was valid, how much was owed, or what caused a discrepancy in a specific case.

How do the compensation figures relate to disputed debts?

Department for Business and Trade figures published on GOV.UK were updated on 11 September 2026 and measured to 31 July 2026. Across the listed live redress schemes, approximately £1,666 million had been paid to more than 13,300 claimants. The Horizon Shortfall Scheme had received 14,609 claims. These are aggregate scheme totals, not counts of unresolved debts, and they do not show whether a particular claim or debt was correctly assessed. See the GOV.UK compensation data for the scheme figures and their definitions.

On 20 May 2026, the Department for Business and Trade announced plans for two further processes: permission to appeal for some people who accepted a £75,000 Fixed Sum Offer but believed they were owed more, and a process for cases where shortfall evidence was incomplete or unavailable. The announcement said the processes were expected to launch later in 2026; it does not establish whether they subsequently launched. The announcement is available from GOV.UK.

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What can be concluded about an individual case?

The inquiry testimony describes a serious problem raised by subpostmasters: disputed shortfalls and debt notices could remain unresolved for years. The survey and redress totals add context, but none of these general figures establishes the present status, amount, or cause of a particular person’s disputed debt. An individual conclusion requires evidence specific to that account and case.

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