Former sub-postmaster Peter Collins from Stamford wants Post Office to repay his money
A former sub-postmaster forced to hide shortfalls in his Post Office accounts has spoken of his relief at being able to talk openly.
Having plugged Horizon balance sheet deficits for years from his own pocket, and then false accounting to cover up further ‘losses’ he could no longer afford, Peter Collins borrowed £19,000 from a friend to help him escape the system and keep his good name.
Peter, who ran a Post Office in the north west for 34 years, was a magistrate, a local councillor, and an MBE for his services to the community, used a large slice of his retirement package to repay the friend. He has since retired to Stamford to be closer to his family, and is involved in the town community.
It was only last week, after watching ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office and seeing the public outrage, Peter felt able to tell his grown-up children.
“Sub-postmasters like me were afraid to say anything, because as soon as you highlighted something was amiss you were audited and either charged with theft or had to admit to false accounting,” he said.
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“My children had their own lives and it was my problem, not theirs, so I kept it from them, even for the seven years after I retired.
“They asked me why I had not told them about it before - I had felt too embarrassed to tell anyone.”
The only people aware were Peter’s full-time assistant at the Post Office branch he ran on a large council estate in Blackpool, and the friend who loaned him the money.
“I trusted my full-time member of staff implicitly,” said Peter. “But we also had part-time staff and when I kept seeing deficits in the accounts each day, you start to think they might be stealing.
“We set ‘traps’ for them, providing them with the keys to open up, and the opportunity to take money, but nothing happened.”
Before the Horizon computer system was introduced in 1999, the paper accounts might be out by a few pounds and pence in either direction. Discrepancies after it arrived always left a deficit.
The responsibility was on sub-postmasters to find the ‘missing money’ and make their accounts balance.
Peter did this over and over again, spending about £11,000 of his own money until he could no longer balance the books in this way.
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He then started to lie about how much money was in the Post Office branch safe, allowing him to provide false accounts covering up the issue - so long as he wasn’t audited.
Peter managed this for 10 years, keeping his head down and limiting his contact with the Horizon helpline, which he thought might be triggering audits.
During that decade he lived in fear of being found out and was unable to leave the Post Office, because the business would then be audited.
As his 70th birthday approached, Peter realised an opportunity to escape - through the introduction of the Network Transformation Programme, which allowed Post Office services to be integrated into other businesses less than a mile from the branch.
He borrowed £19,000 in cash, pretending it was ‘the money in the safe’ and left Grange Park Post Office on June 20, 2017. It reopened at a nearby garage the following day, and Peter spent a few days helping out, to make sure staff knew how to look after his former customers.
Now a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Stamford St Martin’s, he is also on the board of governors for Stamford Welland Academy and for Malcolm Sargent Primary School, and serves hot food and drinks at Ryhall Playing Fields pavilion to help fundraise for the community facilities.
He looks back on his life as a sub-postmaster with fondness for the work and the customers he met, and remains hugely upbeat despite the worry and frustration he endured for years.
“I love life, and since watching Mr Bates vs The Post Office I feel a great sense of relief,” he said.
“But it has, more than anything, galvanised my anger and made me want justice for people like me, who avoided going to court and prison, but who paid a lot of their own money to the Post Office fearing that they could end up being prosecuted.”
Peter is making a claim through the Horizon Shortfall Scheme for money he lost, and has appealed to Blackpool MP Paul Maynard and Stamford MP Gareth Davies to help him and others in the same situation. He has heard back from Mr Maynard.
Peter would also like the senior management of the Post Office - those responsible for the Horizon system - to repay their bonuses, and to be held to account through the criminal courts if they were aware of wrongful prosecutions.
“There is still a lot to be uncovered,” he said, adding that the reason the money was taken from sub-post offices may have been the fault of a ‘bug in the Fujitsu system’ or a deliberate action.
What do you think about Peter’s story? Leave a comment below.
