Royal Mail urged to stop fining people £5 for counterfeit stamps

The Post Office minister has urged Royal Mail to stop fining people £5 if they accidentally use counterfeit stamps believed to be from China, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

Kevin Hollinrake wrote to Martin Seidenberg, the group chief executive at Royal Mail, on April 24 2024 formally making the request.

The Telegraph has previously revealed how new barcoded stamps have led to fears that customers are wrongly being forced to pay £5 to collect letters.

China is believed to be behind the scourge of counterfeit stamps flooding Britain, with security experts and MPs calling the mass forgery an “act of economic warfare”.

Royal Mail has already launched a review into what is happening. Mr Hollinrake is not able to dictate policy to Royal Mail but his letter piles pressure for the charges to be waived.

Mr Hollinrake wrote: “You will be aware of concerns being expressed by parliamentary colleagues about the £5 surcharge being applied, where a number of them have claimed that they have bought stamps from legitimate sources, but which have then been identified as counterfeit by your system.

“I recognise that where fake stamps have been used, it is right that the item should be treated as though no postage has been paid, but we urge you to suspend the £5 charge in such circumstances until the wider issue is resolved where there is some uncertainty that requires further investigation, whether for senders’ individual cases or more generally.”

Barcoded stamps were first introduced in February 2022 as a method to reduce postal fraud. Royal Mail said the move would save “tens of millions” of pounds each year.

Called for criminal investigation

Mr Hollinrake, who has been leading the Government’s response to the Horizon Post Office scandal, has previously vowed to “get to the bottom of what has happened”.

Some MPs have previously called for a criminal investigation, saying that forging stamps needed to be treated with the same severity as counterfeiting money.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, said: “Criminal law is very clear about this and I don’t understand why the police are not cracking down. The law is there to be used and these people are counterfeiters and they are as bad as counterfeiting money so treat them in the same way.”

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “The combination of new barcoded stamps with added security features and Royal Mail actively working with law enforcement authorities has led to a 90 per cent reduction in counterfeit stamps.

“We are working hard to remove counterfeit stamps from circulation. We regularly monitor online marketplaces 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 want our customers to buy stamps with confidence and always recommend that customers only purchase from Post Offices and other reputable high street retailers, and not to buy stamps online unless from the official Royal Mail shop.”