'It's scandalous': People forced to pay fees over counterfeit stamps as Royal Mail issues warning
Royal Mail has issued a warning about counterfeit stamps after a spate of people being charged to receive letters sent using fakes, ITV News Consumer Editor Chris Choi reports
The Royal Mail is under pressure to launch an investigation after several people unwittingly sent post with counterfeit stamps, leading people receiving the letters to be wrongly fined.
Pam James spoke to ITV News after she paid a £5 penalty to collect a letter that was sent with a stamp deemed to be forged.
"They said it is counterfeit, without asking me to send the envelope to them and I just think it's scandalous. It's another scandal."
Ms James' friend insisted she only ever bought stamps from the Post Office or other reputable high street retailers.
The issue has emerged since the postal service switched entirely to a new barcoded system last July.
Isabella Tee, and her fiancée sent out wedding announcements with stamps bought from Amazon, which they believed to be genuine, but they turned out to be fakes.
But some of the letters managed to get through Royal Mail's checking system, while others were told to pay fees.
"I would like to see there is something being done about the fact there is clearly a system that doesn't work," she said.
Ms Tee added she hopes no-one else has to go through what she had to because it was "really embarrassing".
The stamp on the left is genuine, the stamp on the right is counterfeit, with the 'spiky' perforations.
How do you spot a fake stamp?
Some counterfeit stamps are very sophisticated and indiscernible to the untrained eye.
According to stamp expert, Oscar Young, Here are some features to pay attention to when shopping for postage stamps:
Variation in colour.
A different size or shape to normal.
Perforations - genuine stamps have perforations that are more square-edged and on the forged they are more spikey.
Genuine stamps have a barcode that is printed in relief, which can be felt. The fakes have 'flat' barcodes.
Make sure you buy stamps from reputable places. Avoid buying from the internet or off-licenses.
Ensure you are not being charged below face-value - this is a sign the stamps may not be genuine. It is safest to buy from the Post Office directly.
Stamp expert, Oscar Young, gives advice on how to spot a counterfeit stamp
Royal Mail said: “Royal Mail takes the illegal production of counterfeit stamps seriously. Since the introduction of barcoded stamps we have been able to significantly reduce stamp fraud through added security features.
“Every barcode is unique which allows us to identify whether a stamp is genuine or not, and whether they have been previously used.
“We want our customers to buy stamps with confidence. We strongly recommend that customers only purchase stamps from Post Offices and other reputable High Street retailers, and not to buy stamps online – unless from the official Royal Mail shop."
“Our website provides customers with guidance on how to spot counterfeit or used stamps and we urge customers to report any suspicious stamps to Royal Mail via our website so that we can investigate.
“We are working hard to remove counterfeit stamps from circulation. We regularly monitor to detect suspicious activity, such as sales of heavily discounted stamps and work closely with retailers and law enforcement agencies to identify those who produce counterfeit stamps.
“We have a robust, multistage process in place when assessing whether 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.”
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