The stamp blunder costing locals in Wrexham to fork out for MP's campaign letters
A Tory MP in north Wales has sent campaign letters bearing the wrong stamp, with some of her constituents having to pick up the costs to collect them from the local sorting office.
Sarah Atherton, the MP for Wrexham, has apologised for the error after locals from the area had to pay £2.50 to pick up the mail.
One woman from the area, who has asked not to be named, said she received a Royal Mail slip advising of an undelivered letter, to which she drove to Wrexham's sorting office to collect.
“In these difficult times, for some people £2.50 can be a lot of money. It can go towards their gas or pay for a loaf of bread. It’s also a waste of time and effort. It annoyed me.”
The woman said she posted on social media to let others know about the incident.
Ms Atherton has said she will refund anyone caught up in the mix up. She added her office has launched an investigation to find out why her stamps were ruled "invalid" by Royal Mail.
"If those who have been charged want to email sarah.atherton.mp@parliament.uk with proof, we will reimburse the cost.
“People want to make this stamp story a political one, but really this takes away from the message I was conveying, that we need to concentrate on access to healthcare in Wrexham.
"The health campaign continues and I would like to know your experiences of the health service, so if you have received the form then please fill it in and return it in the pre-paid envelope provided as your views are invaluable.”
Included in the envelope was a single A4 sheet of plain paper, plus a return envelope. It had a second-class stamp with a QR strip and was individually addressed.
In response to the incident, the Royal Mail is reminding letter senders to buy stamps from “reputable outlets”.
A spokesperson said: “Generally such surcharges are applied in cases where a customer has inadvertently posted items with insufficient postage or invalid stamps.
“If customers have any suspicion around stamps they have been sold, they can report it on our website. We recommend customers always buy stamps from reputable Royal Mail-approved outlets. If in doubt, stamps are available in Post Office branches throughout the UK and from the Royal Mail shop.”
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