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1. Register听

Who can register

If you had a conviction that has been quashed by either:听听

• 听

• 听

you are eligible for financial redress. This means we will pay you for your losses.听

You can still register if you think you鈥檙e eligible for the scheme but you鈥檝e not got a letter.

If your conviction has been quashed听

Your court and police records are being amended by His Majesty鈥檚 Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and the Police.听听

The National Police Chiefs鈥� Council (NPCC) is ensuring that records of your quashed convictions are removed from the Police National Computer (PNC). Since the PNC is the single national collection of convictions, this means that:听听

• there will no longer be a record of your quashed conviction available for day-to-day policing听

• the quashed conviction will not be disclosed on any future criminal record check, such as a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

2. Complete your ID checks听

3. Apply for your preliminary payment

Once your identification documents have been verified, you and your solicitor will need to complete and send us the preliminary payment application form. This form also includes a fraud safeguard statement you鈥檒l need to sign.听

You will then receive a preliminary payment of 拢200,000.

This allows you time to consider whether to accept the 拢600,000 optional fixed settlement or request a detailed assessment.

If you live in the UK, you do not need to pay tax on any payments you get from the听HCRS. They will not impact any benefits you receive.

You may need to read guidance on how a bankruptcy, Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or a Debt Relief Order (DRO) affects your redress payment.

4. Read the assessment framework and your disclosure bundle听

You and your solicitor should use the available documents to decide whether you鈥檙e going to take the optional fixed settlement of 拢600,000 or request a detailed assessment.

If you decide to accept the 拢600,000 optional fixed settlement, you will receive a final payment of 拢400,000. This amount when added to your 拢200,000 preliminary payment, will equal the 拢600,000 optional fixed settlement.

Assessment framework听

The assessment framework sets out some examples of losses, and how much you might be owed in financial redress under the scheme for suffering them.听

Disclosure bundle听

If you were a postmaster, employed directly by the Post Office, you will receive a disclosure bundle.听

Your disclosure bundle is a set of documents related to your work with the Post Office, and the events leading up to your conviction.听

At this stage, your disclosure bundle will include the information we have on:听

• your contract and remuneration with the Post Office听

• whether you were eligible for the Royal Mail Share Plan听

Your bundle will be uploaded to a secure portal, along with any other documents we share with you.听听

We鈥檒l send you and your solicitor details on how to sign in to the secure portal.听

If you were not employed by the Post Office, you will not receive a disclosure bundle. However, you can request more information from the Post Office by contacting us at [email protected].

If you need your tax records听

You can request your tax records if you wish. We recommend this step, as it will help you decide whether to take the 拢600,000 optional fixed settlement or request a detailed assessment. This will also make the process quicker.

If you need more information听

If you need more information to make your decision, you can request it by contacting us at [email protected].

We鈥檒l let you know if this information is available and when it has been added to the portal.

5. Decide whether to take 拢600,000 or request a detailed assessment

Once we have confirmed your eligibility, we鈥檒l send the 2 application forms to the contact details you have provided. You should complete and send us either the optional fixed settlement application form or the detailed assessment application form.

You should seek legal advice to help you, using our guidance on finding a solicitor.听

There is no time limit for you to decide which option to take.听听

Option 1: take the 拢600,000 optional fixed settlement听

If you decide to accept the 拢600,000 optional fixed settlement, you will receive a final payment of 拢400,000. This amount when added to your 拢200,000 preliminary payment, will equal the 拢600,000 optional fixed settlement.听听

If you accept the fixed sum settlement, you cannot get a detailed assessment at a later stage.听

If you live in the UK, you do not need to pay tax on any payments you get from the听HCRS. They will not impact any benefits you receive.

Option 2: request a detailed assessment

If you request a detailed assessment:听

• your detailed assessment settlement might be less than 拢600,000听
• you won鈥檛 be able to take the optional fixed settlement of 拢600,000 at a later stage听

You will need to provide evidence of your losses so you can receive the exact amount you lost.听听

This includes both financial damages (such as lost earnings) and personal damages (the impact on your life).听

Submitting your evidence

You will need to submit your completed detailed assessment application form and evidence to the portal.

After you have submitted your evidence

Once your detailed assessment application form and evidence has been submitted, you will receive a payment of 拢250,000 to bring your financial redress to 拢450,000.听

Your case worker will contact you if they have any queries.听

Receiving your detailed assessment offer

You will then receive a detailed assessment offer with an explanation on how the amount was calculated.听

You and your solicitor then need to consider whether to accept the offer or not.听

If you disagree with your offer, you can discuss your options with your case worker and solicitor.

If you cannot come to an agreement, read the guidance on appealing your offer.听

Accepting your detailed assessment offer

Once you have accepted your detailed assessment offer, you will sign a settlement agreement to formalise this.

You should note:听

• any payments you have already received will be deducted from the final settlement payment
• interest is generally payable on past financial damages. Interest will be paid at 3.45% compound from the date the loss was incurred, where relevant. Interest is not payable on non-financial damages

If you live in the UK, you do not need to pay tax on any payments you get from the听HCRS. They will not impact any benefits you receive.

6. Appeal your offer听(optional)

You can appeal your financial redress offer if both of the following apply:听

• you do not agree with your offer听

• you are unable to find an agreement with DBT听

There are 2 ways you can appeal:听

• stage 1 鈥� external experts will mediate conversations between you and DBT until you find an agreement听

• stage 2 鈥� a panel of experts will assess your case and recommend a solution, the panel is made up of experts in:

  • law听

  • medical听

  • accounts听

  • retail