Royal Mail has been accused of charging £5 fines for "counterfeit" stamps despite people claiming they purchased them from legitimate sources - including the Post Office.
A new investigation claims people have been left "frustrated" and "mortified" after being charged the fine. If the post is deemed to have been sent with a "counterfeit" stamp, then Royal will put a yellow sticker on it, which warns the recipient they have to pay a fee of £5.
The £5 charge is four times the price of a standard first-class stamp, which is set to rise to £1.35 on April 2. Money Mail claims the issue links back to Royal Mail replacing its old stamps with ones that have barcodes, so you can track and trace your post. It claims some readers have been in touch to say they received the stamp which was later deemed "counterfeit" through the Royal Mail "Swap Out" scheme, which allows you to trade in any old stamps for their new barcode equivalent.
Puzzled Brits have been questioning Royal Mail on social media. In a post on Twitter/X, one person said: "We got stamps from the Bristol Galleries Post Office and people received their post from us said they received a counterfeit. We bought it from a legit source at the official Post Office…"
Another asked: "Can you explain why I’ve just had to pay £5 to collect a standard card. Apparently a counterfeit stamp, but sender bought stamps from Post Office!" And a third said: "Send stamps back to be swapped and they say they are fraudulent stamps, that I bought from a Post Office!"
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The Post Office said it receives its stamps directly from the Royal Mail secure printers. A Post Office spokesperson said: "Stamps are available to buy from a number of different sources. Post Office Ltd receives its stamps direct from Royal Mail’s secure printers. Customers who buy stamps at Post Offices are given an itemised receipt, and this is required to investigate any allegations of fake stamps."
The spokesperson added: "Any allegation that fake stamps have been purchased at a Post Office are extremely serious. The implication of such an allegation is that one of our Postmasters, or a member of their staff, has obtained fake stamps and have chosen to sell them to customers rather than selling legitimate stamps that have come from Royal Mail’s secure printers. This is why we insist that any customer who thinks they may have purchased a fake stamp from a Post Office must produce an itemised receipt so that this can be looked into further."
Royal Mail did not reveal if it has launched an investigation, or how many £5 fines have been issued over the "counterfeit" stamps. A Royal Mail spokesman told The Mirror: "It is vital we can investigate any instance where a person believes their stamps have been incorrectly identified as counterfeit or pre-used. To do this, we require any customer who believes they have been incorrectly surcharged to send the envelope with the barcoded stamp attached to us, along with the exact location of where the stamp was purchased.
"We have a robust, multistage process in place when assessing whether barcoded stamps are genuine. This includes a thorough examination using specialist equipment, then a follow up inspection by a skilled member of the team before any stamp is marked as counterfeit or pre-used. We will always happily review individual cases and if an error has been made then we will of course correct it."
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