Indeed, I'll certainly be inspecting the shoes and adjusting the cable fully when I replace the rear pads.
The car has probably stood for weeks at a time, on many occasions, on the handbrake. They probably stuck on numerous occasions and were forced free each time the car was used again.
And as you said, seeing as the car only has 38k, it probably hasn't been inspected/adjusted/overhauled in it's life.