Post Office Hounded Dozens of Workers Because of Shit Software

[Johnny Yesno]

This is one of those stories that you just have to stop thinking about because it makes you want to punch a wall

Yes, it's staggering that none of the witnesses for the PO haven't been prosecuted for perjury. I clearly don't understand how the law works. Lie and then if things don't work out, the legal costs will be paid by the taxpayer.

[idunnosomename]

the first half of this was aired in 2019, next weeks are new

this is wrong. At least the second half is from last year.

[Sonny_Jim]

This must have been going on for ages, as I remember my Dad (sub postmaster) telling me about it, maybe 2005?  I remember because he was scared shitless it was going to happen to him.  Massively fucked up that people were jailed over it.

[Famous Mortimer]

I worked for the Post Office from 1998 to 2017, in the main admin centre that dealt with all the business dealings from all the individual POs. I saw the Horizon system trailed, discussed and finally installed. Like most of us, I thought "this is a bit shit, awkward to use and annoying" (even with stuff like how the keyboard was laid out) but I never thought the people in charge were actively evil - I remember Paula Vennells coming to check out some project I was involved with and she seemed a sort of okay person.

We had the first rumblings of discontent about it before I left, though, I remember one of those "please don't answer any press calls, direct them to the PR office" circulars going round the office. We also got several messages about how the Horizon system worked fine and there was no evidence of any bugs, though.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I worked for the Post Office from 1998 to 2017,

We had the first rumblings of discontent about it before I left

This feels a bit like the time I did a 3 month temp job at a weighbridge on a tip, you had to enter the european waste codes for the rubbish being tipped on two screens and whoevever had set it up/showed me the gig didn't explain what the first screen was actually telling the system; it turns out it selected the price tier of the waste.

Around the time I was leaving invoices involving my time booking waste must've gone out and a couple of companies had started to phone and ask why they were being invoiced for "deep fill" (hazardous) waste rather than general. So clearly I left a nice mess for someone to clear up. Oops!