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Victims of the Post Office Capture scandal say they are being treated as second-class citizens – accusing the government of running a “two-tier” compensation system.
It comes as the Department for Business and Trade announced the launch of the first-ever redress scheme for those wronged after faulty software created false accounting shortfalls in the 1990s.
Capture was used between 1992 and 1999 in up to 2,500 Post Office branches, with many sub postmasters making up cash losses themselves.
A government-commissioned report last year found it was likely the software caused accounting errors.
The Capture Redress Scheme will provide payments of up to £300,000, and more in “exceptional” cases, to former postmasters who suffered financial losses.
Steve Marston, who was convicted in 1998 of stealing from his branch and is not yet eligible to apply to the scheme, said other victims were feeling “frustrated” with it.
“I want to know, what do they consider exceptional circumstances?” he said, “because I want it to see it in black and white what they consider as exceptional circumstances rather than just a vague statement.”
He said that victims felt like “second-class” citizens, describing the Horizon schemes and the new Capture scheme as “two-tier” systems.
“[It’s] one law for the Horizon victims, and a totally different law for us Capture victims and that’s not really fair.
“One of the main bones of contention is the fact that with Horizon there’s a right of appeal against decisions, and you’ve got multiple rights to appeal.
“Whereas with the Capture appeal process, there’s only a…
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