Related Articles
Meanwhile Baroness Altmann, vice chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Consumer Protection, said the law should be changed so that only the Post Office can sell stamps.
The former pensions minister said: “We actually got caught out by that last year. My uncle had his birthday last summer and he sent out, the poor man, thank you cards to everybody who bought a special 90th birthday present for him and all of us had to pay five pounds to read his lovely letter.
“He bought stamps on Amazon thinking they were at a discount. And clearly they were counterfeit and presumably now we know they probably came from China.
“What you want is for people to only buy non-counterfeit stamps. If people are trying to buy off the internet, surely they should be told not to and they should be told to only buy from Royal Mail.
“I think it’s quite clear that buying something like a stamp, which has special security measures, shouldn’t happen online, just like buying £5 notes online at a discount. It’s the same principle. You should have to go to a recognised bank for the money, and you should have to go to the Post Office or order from a post office for stamps.”
Until 1989, stamps could only be sold by Royal Mail and in Post Offices. These rules were then relaxed to give customers more choice and availability.
It means anybody in Britain can sell stamps and at whatever price they want. Last week, a government source told The Telegraph there were no immediate plans to change the law.
Royal Mail, which has been a private company since 2013, is regulated by Ofcom. However the regulator said counterfeit stamps fell outside of its remit and it had not been in contact with Royal Mail about the issue.
An Ofcom spokesman said: “Issues regarding the authenticity of stamps are not within the scope of Ofcom’s regulation, which is set in legislation by Parliament.”
Royal Mail was approached for comment.
Source link
