Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Paragraph: 38
Offers to claimants should only be full and final where claimants have received independent advice...
Conclusion
Offers to claimants should only be full and final where claimants have received independent advice and have exhausted their rights to recourse to the Historical Shortfall Scheme’s alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process. We ask the Government to seek clarity from the Post Office Ltd. (POL) on the basis on which offers are made, in particular whether claimants were aware before agreeing to take part in the Scheme of its terms of reference and methodology and what rights, if any, were waived.
Paragraph Reference:
38
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
No rights are waived by postmasters in joining the Scheme. Agreement on the part of the postmaster that a settlement is full and final (meaning the postmaster cannot make any further claims against the Post Office in relation to the matters settled) only happens if the postmaster accepts the settlement offer made, thereby compromising his or her claim and bringing the process to an end. The Historical Shortfall Scheme’s process and methodology are outlined in its Terms of Reference,11 which were made available on the Post Office website as part of the application process. In particular, points 7 and 8 in the document explain that applications will be assessed by an Independent Advisory Panel,12 and it makes claimants aware of the Dispute Resolution Procedure should they be dissatisfied with the outcome of their claim assessment. All applicants to the Scheme were required to sign a declaration stating that they had observed and agreed to the Terms of Reference before they proceeded with their application. In addition, paragraph 8.6 of the document states that “[a]ny settlements reached shall be on a full and final basis and shall not be capable of being re-opened save in the event of fraud”. When an offer is made, claimants are reminded that they can seek independent legal advice prior to accepting the offer. As outlined further in the response to Recommendation 16, the Post Office will reimburse up to £1200 of these costs. Claimants can alternatively choose to reject offers made in line with the Independent Advisory Panel’s recommendation and instead follow the Dispute Resolution Procedure steps to settle their claim.