A couple who ran a Cambridgeshire post office for 27 years have revealed – for the first time – how they had to find £20,000 after being caught up in the Horizon computer system scandal. Four separate and stressful audit inspections by Post Office investigators concluded that as the couple had kept making good the apparent losses, that no prosecution was needed.
When they upped sticks and retired in 2019, they had no idea they were victims of an unprecedented witch hunt that saw 900 other sub postmasters wrongly prosecuted for similar discrepancies; many were jailed for false accounting and theft.
Harvi and Dev Rayat ran Ramsey Post Office from 1992 to June 2019.
Their story makes front page news in their former local community newspaper, the Ramsey and Warboys Informer, and with the Editor’s permission and that of the author of the article, family friend and retired GP Dr Arun Aggarwal, CambsNews re-prints the article in its entirety.
Dr Aggarwal knows the couple well, but it was only recently that Harvi and Dev shared with him their secret anguish.
Here he tells their story.
Many will remember Harvi and Dev Rayat who ran Ramsey Post Office from 1992 to June 2019.
That period virtually coincided with our 26 years as GPs at Rainbow Surgery (1993-2019 October).
Harvi and Dev were always so helpful in all matters and helped many of our patients with many administrative hassles related to passports, benefits as well as the usual Post Office related transactions.
We were touched by Harvi’s concern for my elderly mother as she became frailer over the years, and then eventually came to live with us.
Harvi was an excellent cook, and my mother loved the occasional authentic Punjabi cooking Harvi made for her.
Harvi even came to ‘granny-sit’ on one occasion when Rita and I had a very important meeting related to Fenland Group Practice.
Harvi and Dev retired in June 2019, and we retired soon after, in October 2019.
During retirement, we occasionally swapped plants and seeds, and tasty foods.
I was surprised to hear that Dev had developed Covid, and then as a very rare complication of Covid, had gone into kidney failure in June 2022, requiring several months stay in Peterborough Hospital and getting established on regular dialysis.
This prompted them to sell their Ramsey home, and move nearer their son in Wolverhampton, and nearer a hospital dialysis centre.
A year later, Harvi was diagnosed with breast cancer and is still undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
We have been struck by the courage they both showed in coping with their illnesses, and their resilience.
Most readers will have been unaware of the Horizon scandal until this January when ITV had an explosive drama documentary documenting numerous sub-postmasters wrongly accused of stealing from the Post Office.
Little did we know how much our local Ramsey post office was also part of this scandal. Harvi and Dev had always been very private people, and never told anyone what had been going on.
They have only recently told me more about their involvement in this scandal.
They took on Ramsey post office in 1992, after the previous postmasters left in the aftermath of a scandal of undelivered letters.
Dev had previously been a skilled carpenter, and Harvi a pensions consultant in London.
During the economic downturn in the building trade of 1992, they switched careers and acquired Ramsey Post Office, after vetting by the Post Office.
They had no errors in their weekly book-keeping during paper systems up to 2000.
Then the Horizon computer system arrived.
Some weeks were correct, some weeks over by up to £500, and some weeks under by up to £500.
They kept a kitty to deal with these ups and downs and wondered what they were doing wrong.
As time went on, the errors amounted to an overall £20,000 loss that they had to make good from their own savings or earnings, under the standard PO contract.
The errors happened whether it was them doing all the work, or their very trusted staff doing the work, and no blame was attributed to anyone in particular.
Four separate audit inspections by Post Office investigators, which were very stressful, concluded that as Harvi and Dev had kept making good the apparent losses, that no prosecution was needed.
Harvi and Dev persevered, not realising this was a pattern being repeated up and down the country.
They were not part of the group action led by Alan Bates, and because of the medical care and stresses they were under, they actually missed the broadcast TV drama documentary of January 2024.
They were then contacted by the Horizon team in the spring this year to notify them that the £20,000 deemed shortfalls that they had paid over historically would be refunded, and their personal accountants have submitted the relevant claim and paperwork.
The stresses of the continued shortfalls and errors, and the audit inspections by Post Office Investigators all took their toll, but they kept it all very quiet, only sharing parts of their ordeal with their two regular staff.
We suspect the stresses of the Horizon saga did not help their bodies cope with the illnesses that have struck, and further turned their lives and retirement plans upside down.
They miss Ramsey, but are glad to be in Wolverhampton, near their son, three grandchildren, and local hospital and dialysis units.
They loved the friends they made in Ramsey and the trust and mutual respect they had and gave in the town.
They remain very involved in their Sikh faith and support of a Sikh school for underprivileged children in north India (the Baba Seva Singh Trust).
We are arranging with Thusy, the current postmaster, a large card at the post office that customers can send their memories and goodwill messages in, as well as a donation box in aid of Cancer Research.
Donations can be made at the post office or on line
https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/harvi-rayat-ramsey-post-office
We are sure readers will join us in wishing Harvi and Dev the best of luck in their medical journeys, and in making the best of their retirement, and sympathies on what they have had to endure.
Dr Arun Aggarwal, retired GP, Rainbow Surgery
FACT FILE
Japanese company Fujitsu developed the computer system for the Post Office, and it was introduced in 1999.
Despite repeatedly being advised by sub postmasters of errors, the Post Office maintained integrity in the system and hounded hundreds for false accounting.
Helen Ryan, Deputy Secretary of the Post Office Horizon Inquiry, in her latest report, says that they are examining “what is often described as the most ‘widespread miscarriage of justice’ in British legal history and it’s only right that the voices of those affected are heard, every step of the way.
“People have told us about the impact of the Horizon scandal throughout our phases and our listening project, In Your Own Words.
“They’ve also told us that they want to make sure the scandal is marked in history.
“For that reason, we’re working together with those affected by the scandal on an upcoming Legacy Project. This will seek to ensure that the scandal’s devastating impacts are not forgotten.
“We recognise, of course, that for those who have been affected by the scandal there isn’t a single legacy and, in time, the scandal and the stories of those who have been affected may be marked in a range of ways.”
Ms Ryan said that people who have been affected by the Horizon scandal and want to share their experiences and views may do so at future engagement sessions or through our listening project, In Your Own Words.
Any experiences shared will also help to inform the Legacy Project.
She said that In Your Own Words is open to anyone who may have been impacted, including current or former sub-postmasters, family members, friends, community members, or other members of the public who may have reflections to share.
Current or former employees of organisations linked to the scandal, such as the Post Office, Government or Fujitsu, who may have been impacted in different ways, are also invited to share their experiences.
“Work on the Legacy Project will happen at the same time as the Inquiry’s hearings and will be announced in due course,” she said.
“The Legacy Project will not delay the hearings and preparation of the final report.”
