Feb 18, 2022
Post Office scandal: Ex-postmistress describes 'night terrors'
A former Post Office sub-postmistress said she worked out how she would take her own life after she was wrongly accused of stealing more than £9,600.Jennifer O'Dell said she suffered from "Night terrors" after being told by bosses she was guilty of theft and that they would "Take my home away". Speaking at a public inquiry into the scandal, Mrs O'Dell claimed she was bullied and intimidated by former Post Office director Angela van den Bogerd at a hearing following her suspension in January 2010, where she was accused of stealing £9,617.The former sub-postmistress, who ran a post office from a converted room in her home in Cambridgeshire, explained how the Horizon software, used to complete accounting tasks, first suggested she was down £1,000 in June 2009.Over the coming months, the system was calculating more money had gone, but when Mrs O'Dell called the Horizon helpline she was told to "Pay the money back", with one call handler "Shouting at me down the phone". In January 2010, Mrs O'Dell said she was visited by Post Office staff, who accused her of stealing more than £9,000 and told her she was suspended. Becoming visibly upset, Mrs O'Dell said after her Post Office shut due to the scandal, "people would cross the road", when she was walking in her village. The Post Office has previously said it is "sincerely sorry for the impact of the Horizon scandal on the lives of victims and their families and we are in no doubt about the human cost".
Related companies
Make a complaint about Post Office by viewing their customer service contacts.
