A sub-postmaster who was taken to court by the Post Office says he is finding it difficult to access the 'well publicised' compensation schemes set up in light of the Horizon scandal.

Kevin Banks was one of the first sub-postmasters to be prosecuted.

The scandal has been documented in the ITV series Mr Bates V The Post Office

More than 700 sub-postmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.

Mr Banks, from Bolton, ran the Old Lane Post Office in Salford from 1997.

 

He said The Post Office ruined his life after being accused of stealing £10k.

Mr Banks received £43,000 in compensation after money was deducted from an original £78k for tax purposes.

He said: “I can see all the things they are saying on the TV about getting compensation, but nobody has even contacted me.”

There are currently three compensation schemes for Post Office victims.

The Overturned Convictions scheme is for those who have had their conviction quashed, and will likely be one many will be eligible for after promises that everyone’s convictions will be overturned.

These people are eligible for a £600,000 settlement, but Mr Banks.

The Group Litigation Order (GLO) scheme is one for those the Post Office pursued after the Alan Bates V Post Office action and who were not prosecuted in the Horizon scandal.

Mr Banks is also not eligible for this as he was not part of the GLO.

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Lastly, there is the Horizon Shortfall Scheme for those not convicted but who may have lost money by putting all of it back into the Post Office, or who agreed to pay money to The Post Office after internal investigations.

Mr Banks applied for this scheme but says he has not received anything for what he paid in.

He said: “They have waited all these years and if they wait a few more, a few more of us might die.

“It doesn’t even matter what I receive, it is not enough.”

Hundreds of sub-postmasters are still awaiting full compensation despite the Government announcing those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.

The Government has said setting up a new body to deal with financial redress for Horizon victims would “take months and cost millions”.

The Business and Trade Committee previously issued a report which said an independent intermediary should be established to help victims “through every stage of their compensation claims” – describing the current redress process as an “abject failure”.

In response to the report, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said: “Setting up a new body to replace these arrangements would take months and cost millions which should instead be spent on redress for postmasters.”