To be absolutely aghast after watching Mr Bates v the Post Office

[Vistada]

I binged all of this in one go, no spoilers (although the current state of play is easily findable...)

AIBU to be absolutely aghast that this happened, and happened for so long.
Absolutely dystopian!

Just warning anyone who hasn't seen it that you will be utterly furious when you have. I'm a cynical person, usually prepared to believe the worst of any institution attempting to protect itself, but even I was astonished by the lengths to which PO went. I agree with @SurelySmartie , we should all be demanding justice for these innocent people, convicted by years and years of lies.

I’ve read bits about it here and there over the years but don’t have a comprehensive knowledge on what happened . I’ll watch this although I often hate viewing programmes about miscarriages of justices. Especially when it’s very deliberate. I just get so furious. But I can’t imagine what the victims and their families went through though. Horrific stuff. And shocking that someone involved would get to keep their honours award.

The CPS didn't take the postmasters to court. The Post Office can take anyone to court as they have that power. No police or CPS involvement needed.

It’s totally shocking.

If you want to find out more and hear from the real love people the BBC Sounds podcast on this is a really good listen

No mention of Adam Crozier who coincidentally worked for ITV.

This wasn't prosecuted by the CPS.
Royal mail do their own prosecutions which is part of the problem in my view.
RSPCA also do their own prosecutions.

I was aware of some news articles over the years, but had no idea how bad it was. I hope the people affected will get their compensation sorted quicker now that it's been brought to public attention. Shameful that people were forced to use their own savings and remortgage etc to pay the discrepancies. Some have died while waiting for a resolution.

I think the thing that shocked me the most was when they showed that the woman CEO of the Post Office was also a priest! She knew they were covering up and lies were being told. How did that fit in with her Christian vows? I hope she gets stripped of her MBE at the very least.

I know someone directly caught up in the whole thing.

They got their money back and didn't get suspended but it initially cost them £30k.

The PO and Fujitsu are cunts. Plain and simple.

Watching it now, on episode 2. Disgusted, these poor people

I wonder how much the Rev Paula Vennell picked up in bonuses over the years? She won't hand back her small gong, she'll still be expecting a peerage, what with all her business experience and service to the community. I seriously wonder how much more the people of this country will be prepared to take. Distorticorruption and lies at every turn. I'd better get off MN for tonight. At explosion point.

Correction: Distortion. Corruption. Lies

Just watched the final episode on ITVX

Those waiting until tomorrow: have tissues at the ready!

I watched all 4 episodes tonight and cried my eyes out, those poor, poor people, all they went through (and still are as justice has not been served!). I had never heard about the case, not having lived in the country this long, but this is horendous! And even more so that it's still going on, absolute madness!

Edited to add some top notch acting as well in the series, I was totally immersed in it and couldn't stop watching it (even at times I was crying and saying "how much more?" through all the many downs the series showed).

I've only watched the first two episodes so far (still catching up) but it's really affected me. I don't know anyone involved but I have felt and cried for them all. Following Covid, I knew the government was corrupt, but this is a whole new level.

Look at who the CEO of the Post Office was at the time, then put two and two together without getting five.

I thought the actors were amazing. Lovely to see Will Mellor in a serious role.

Paula Vennels actress captured her really well. She had a good balance of ‘community hero wannabe’ and ‘evil shill protecting her job’

Toby Jones - no words. The performance speaks for itself.

Julie Hesmondalgh was quietly brilliant and had great chemistry with Toby.

I have a little bit of Monica Dolan fatigue, she’s is EVERYTHING these days but I found her character so warm despite the subject matter, I enjoyed every last scene.

The bloke playing Bob was great too. One of a few actors in this show were I watch and think “Hmm I’ve seen him/her before, where?!” Then shuffle off to IMDb

But then you’re boycotting Royal Mail, who are absolutely nothing to do with the Post Office.
What’s the point in doing that?

This programme made me cry. My parents owned a post office for 10 years. I even lived above one for 3 years (age 3 - 6). They had a horizon machine before selling up. There but for the grace of God…

How come the system only ever involved shortfalls and not surpluses? That alone is baffling. Has no investigation been done into how the system was able to ‘disappear’ cash that wasn’t even there in the 1st place?
The fact that the PO were and still are able to act as Judge, Jury and executioner is unbelievable.
It doesn’t look like any real forensic accounting investigation was done to the people who supposedly lost or stole the ‘missing’ money, that alone is dispicable. They had no chance of proving they were innocent, in the PO’s eyes, they were either incompetent or thieves.
It’s an outrage that it’s taken so long and it’s still not settled, although how do you compensate a Woman who was sent to prison pregnant and suffers MH issues to this day?

The bloke playing Bob was great too. One of a few actors in this show were I watch and think “Hmm I’ve seen him/her before, where?!” Then shuffle off to IMDb

He’s Father Beocca from ‘The Last Kingdom’. The documentary seemed to suggest he was in fact called ‘Ron’.

Like everyone else, utterly gobsmacked by what I’ve just watched. I think this high-handed authoritarian is actually how things are run and we, the little people, have glimpsed into the abyss.

It's the scale that shocked me, and how it took so long for it to all come out (and it's still ongoing!). It's not unheard through history for a few of people to be wrongly accused, or even wrongly convicted of a crime. But there were hundreds and hundreds in this case! How the post office thought they could get away with this?! I just can't imagine what it's like to be accused of theft and have to pay back the money,.or even go to prison, knowing you are innocent!

Has no investigation been done into how the system was able to ‘disappear’ cash that wasn’t even there in the 1st place?

Did you not watch the series? Fujitsu were accessing the live system and making "corrections" to accounts because the software was so shaky.

IMO it's Fujitsu that are more to blame than the PO in this sorry mess: the PO were stupid enough to
•believe Fujitsu when they said there were no issues with the s/w
•not notice that a huge spike in "accounting fraud" coincided with new s/w being introduced
•heavy handed with their response to the supposed fraud.

But Fujitsu lied consistently when they said that it was impossible for anyone to access the live system other than the relevant postmaster, and actually accessed it themselves daily to hide correct errors caused by their system.

I've been following this story for over a decade, I still feel a sense of disbelief it all happened.

Private eye were reporting on this for a decade
It is outrageous. But it is also frustrating how long it took for most of the media to pay any attention.

It's devastating and I know a family whose lives were ruined by it. It utterly broke them and was heartbreaking.

I get more and more angry each episode.

That poor women who had to have ECT .