British Government Declares Fujitsu Matter Following POS System Malfunction, Resulting in Postal Representatives Undertaking Legal Proceedings Exceeding 700 Individuals.

Last week, the Mr. Bates vs The Post Office series shed light on the case involving a sub-postmaster in England who operated a franchise postal service. The Post Office accused numerous sub-postmasters of embezzlement, but it was revealed that the point-of-sale (POS) software, called Horizon and developed by Fujitsu, had numerous bugs. This led to over 700 sub-postmasters being wrongly prosecuted.

The Horizon EPOS software, developed by Fujitsu, was implemented in the UK Post Office system in 1999 to replace the outdated paper-based system. However, it was riddled with a multitude of bugs throughout its existence. For instance, in 2001, the system would freeze when sub-postmasters pressed the payment button, but the transaction details weren’t recorded in the database. As a result, when sub-postmasters reconciled their accounts, the money wouldn’t match with the recorded transactions. Additionally, some glitches resulted in duplicate entries, causing discrepancies in the financial records.

Despite the continuous reports highlighting these bugs, the UK Post Office continued to pursue legal action against sub-postmasters whose accounts didn’t align with the system data. This has led to over 700 individuals being wrongfully prosecuted.

Fujitsu expressed regret over the unfortunate events but has yet to clarify the extent of their responsibility towards the affected parties. The spokesperson for the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom stated that investigations are underway, and once the findings are released, the individuals involved will be held accountable. The outcome of the investigation may also have implications for Fujitsu’s current and future contracts with the UK government, including agreements related to the tax and ministry systems, among others.

Currently, Fujitsu has 191 contracts with the UK government, amounting to £6.5 billion. These contracts encompass major systems such as the tax and ministry systems.

TLDR: The recent Mr. Bates vs The Post Office series exposed the wrongful prosecution of sub-postmasters in the UK. The accusations of embezzlement stemmed from bugs in the Post Office’s Fujitsu-developed Horizon EPOS software. Over 700 sub-postmasters faced legal battles, highlighting the need for accountability and potential ramifications for Fujitsu’s contracts with the UK government.