Waitress distressed after her picture was put up on main Po

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Waitress distressed after her picture was put up on main post office screen wrongly accusing her of theft

http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/ ... -of-theft/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?

A PORTUGUESE waitress was publicly humiliated when her photo was put on public display after she was wrongly accused of stealing money from the main Post Office.

Catia Soaras, a supervisor at The Gorge Cafe in Richfield Avenue, says the incident has left her afraid to leave home.

Ms Soaras, 33, went into the Post Office on Market Place to bank the cafe’s takings on March 24.

The Post Office assistant paid in the cash, noting it as £850 instead of £580 — then demanded Ms Soaras pay in £300 to fix the discrepancy. When she refused, the assistant took a photo of her on the branch’s CCTV camera and put the image up on a public screen, alleging she was a thief.

The Liverpool Road resident, who has worked at the cafe for 18 months, said: “I really did not know what to do when I saw the photo. I was in complete shock.”

“I don’t think anyone deserves to be treated in this way. I’m so scared that someone will see me from that photo and that something will happen to me because [the Post Office] put that picture of me up there all day and I’m sure so many people have seen it.”

Ms Soaras, a former lieutenant in the Portuguese army, said the Post Office assistant took the image without her knowledge, while she was rummaging through her bag. The image was then put on a computer screen by the building’s entrance, and staff refused to take it down when she asked.

The Gorge Cafe general manager Anabela Fonseca said: “I was in total shock when Catia called me and told me what happened.

“What also makes it worse is that the picture they took looks like she was pulling something dangerous out of her bag.

“Catia is a good worker and I was so happy when she joined my team. It really has shocked me to see a member of my staff treated in such a terrible way.

“I don’t think an apology is good enough.”

Just before going to press, Ms Fonseca called The Chronicle to confirm a manager from the Post Office had turned up at the cafe to apologise personally to Ms Soaras.

A Post Office spokesperson said “Reading Post Office has contacted the customer in question to resolve the issue and they would like to apologise for any distress this incident may have caused.

“Post Office strives to give the customers best customer experience to all who visit our branches.”

[NWpostie]

Instead of the Branch manager apologising, the staff who done the accusation should be the one doing the apology, also a disciplinary, its an unprofessional way to behave in order to cover up your own mistakes.

[GT750rider]

Another example of Post Office Counters Ltd deciding to find someone guilty without bothering to investigate the facts ? Shades of the Horizon scandal to me....

[Lounge Lizard]

But is the Post office in Market Place, Reading a Crown Office ?
From a picture on Google Images it doesn't look like one.