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Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert has revealed Royal Mail has waived £5 penalties for some amid a crackdown on fake stamps. BBC Sounds presenter Mr Lewis and ITV star, who is the founder of MSE, saw his team share a guide for households today (Tuesday).
Royal Mail is introducing a host of new measures to try and prevent people from being caught out, MSE said. The consumer website explained: “Temporarily pausing the £5 penalty fee for anyone receiving a letter with a fake stamp on it. Instead, the letter you receive will have a sticker on it telling you a fake stamp has been used – though Royal Mail won’t issue backdated refunds to people who wrongly believe they’ve already been charged.”
The Royal Mail is also “introducing a new ‘fake stamp scanner’ to the Royal Mail app” and is “using the services of a new independent ‘stamp expert’ to verify whether stamps are legitimate.” The independent expert will verify whether a stamp is genuine as part of Royal Mail’s escalation process for customer complaints.
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The moves came after a surge in complaints about fake stamps, and after an investigation by The Telegraph, external that found four Chinese companies had offered to print up to one million counterfeit stamps a week, with each stamp being sold for as little as 4p each before being sent to the UK.
Chief commercial officer of Royal Mail, Nick Landon, said that since February 2022 – when barcoded stamps were introduced – there had been a massive reduction in counterfeiting. “The combination of new barcoded stamps with added security features and Royal Mail actively working with retailers, online marketplaces and law enforcement authorities, has led to a 90% reduction in counterfeit stamps,” he said.
Royal Mail has asked customers to look out for stamps with an unusually shiny surface, unusual colouration or inaccurate perforations – although many counterfeits can still avoid those telltale signs.
