Post Office cratered from UK’s sixth most trusted finance brand to 135th amid Horizon scandal

The Post Office has plummeted from the UK’s sixth most trusted finance and insurance brand to 135th place, pollsters have found.

It follows widespread public and political outcry over the Horizon IT scandal which saw innocent postal workers criminalised over false accounting – due to faulty software supplied by Fujitsu – and was dramatised by ITV as Mr Bates vs The Post Office in January this year.

According to research by pollsters at Savanta, over the past 12 months the Post Office has fallen from an 83 per cent trust rating, which was just below Money Saving Expert, the consumer finance website run by Martin Lewis, at 85 per cent, in April 2023.

But it now ranks at 69 per cent – below buy-now-pay-later brand Klarna at 70 per cent and fintech firm Revolut at 71 per cent – as of April 2024, the researchers found.

Klarna offers unregulated buy-now pay-later products, and Revolut does not have a UK banking licence and has seen more fraud complaints to the financial ombudsman than any other banking firm in the last year.

And former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells, who was forced to return her CBE amid the scandal, is set to give evidence to the Post Office inquiry later this week.

Pollsters at Savanta’s BrandVue platform, which survey the public on thousands of brands, have suggested the Post Office is at risk of losing one third of their over-50 customer base. 

In May 2023, the Post Office had a 60 per cent ‘consideration share’ among over 50’s in the UK, defined as a potential customer ‘considering’ using a brand’s product or services.

But as of April 2024, this has now dropped to 40 per cent, a fall of around one third – the largest of any comparative company in the BrandVue tracker.

John Laughton, head of product at Savanta, said: “The Post Office has always been one of the most trusted brands in Britain, but [this] shows just how affected the brand has been by the Horizon IT Scandal bursting into the public consciousness.”

He added: “Our findings suggest that their biggest challenge is with their over-50s heartland.

“However, the legacy of the Post Office does give them the opportunity to rebuild, if they can reassure those core audiences and show willingness to improve, but there’s plenty of reputational work to do. We’ll be keeping a close eye on performance in the coming weeks.”

The Post Office is also currently recruiting for a head of postmaster communications, including sharing the job advert for a 12-month maternity cover position on LinkedIn.

It states: “Postmasters are at the heart of the Post Office… we invest time and energy into trusted and valued partnerships and build lasting relationships with our postmasters. 

“Now, more than ever, we understand that attracting the right talent is pivotal in driving the positive change needed throughout our organisation.”

The role calls for “effective crisis management experience” and a “high degree of discretion when handling sensitive information”.

A Post Office spokesperson said: “We reiterate our heartfelt apology to victims in the Horizon IT scandal and our focus remains on supporting the ongoing public inquiry. 

“We are learning from all the evidence emerging as today’s Post Office continues to transform the organisation for the future and rebuild trust.”