They hit us with the
Bombshell. We had to pay £28,000 or they would call the police
Kashif Nadeem was baffled when takings at his post office in Newbridge, Edinburgh, appeared to be missing up to £1,500 a week.
But when he asked the Post Office to help find the problem, they accused him of stealing the money.
They told him if he did not repay £28,000, they would bring in the police.
At the time, Kashif, 32, a father-of-two, did not realise that he was just one of hundreds of sub-postmasters whose takings were being wrongly recorded and accused of stealing.
Kashif, whose father Mohammed, had also been an Edinburgh postmaster and had encouraged his son to follow him into the business, said: “We were working with the Post Office’s Horizon system, as they insisted.
“But sizable sums were disappearing from our accounts – £1,500 at times.
“I called the Post Office helpline. Two of its inspectors arrived one day and said they were carrying out an audit of our accounts.
“They then hit us with the bombshell that we owed the Post Office £28,000 and had to pay up immediately.
“We had been meticulous with every transaction and stunned that this could happen.
“Dad and I were interviewed separately by Post Office officials and told we had stolen the money.
“Nothing we said could convince them otherwise.
“She had suffered previously because of a childhood experience and fear of going to court and jail distressed her hugely.”
She passed away in her sleep in 2009 aged 47, after accidently overdosing herself on anti-depressants and alcohol, leaving two sons, age 12 and 14.
Phil said: “She died not knowing the Post Office charges had been dropped. There is every likelihood she would be here today if we had not been treated like this by the Post Office. It was the catalyst in her spiral downwards. It was heartbreaking to see her fall into such a painful depression.”
The couple, who had been together for 10 years, were due to marry the following month. Phil also ran a number of petrol stations in the area but lost those contracts after the allegations of dishonesty. Although he is among the claimants the Post Office is
“The interview was recorded and when they switched it off, they told us to pay up or they would call the police.”
Kashif and his father were so terrified they decided to agree to pay the Post Office the £28,000.
“I felt we were under huge pressure to prove our innocence but couldn’t, because the Post Office controlled the IT system we ran our post office with.”
The family borrowed from banks and family to pay the money. Kashif was not one of those who took legal action against the Post Office, as his family wanted to put the ordeal behind them. But now he intends to claim compensation and clear his name.
“We are approaching a law firm to get our money back and compensation for what we have had to endure,” Kashif added.
The family closed the shop and Kashif took a job in a relative’s store. He reveals it took 10 years to pay off the loans to pay the Post Office and get back on his feet.
He has since moved near Duns in the Scottish Borders where the family have a shop and café.
“Incredibly, I was approached by the
Post Office and asked to consider becoming a postmaster there. I told them that under no circumstances would we ever go into business with them again.
“The heartbreak was too much.”