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Yesterday senior MPs called on Royal Mail to stop the fines, which increased last October from £2.50 to £5, as it investigates issues with new barcoded stamps. A spate of customers claim they have been wrongly surcharged.
The Liberal Democrats said it was “ridiculous” customers were being caught up in Royal Mail’s “mess” and having to pay “unfair” fines. Former Post Office minister Paul Scully also called for the fines to be stopped while Royal Mail investigates the issue.
Royal Mail has so far rejected calls to stop the fines, saying the surcharge was part of the reason there has been a 90pc reduction in counterfeit stamps.
However there is growing discontent in Westminster about the handling of Royal Mail’s investigation.
A letter sent by Postal Affairs minister Kevin Hollinrake, and seen by The Telegraph, has called on Royal Mail’s chief executive to “redouble efforts” and “hold those responsible properly accountable”.
Mr Hollinrake, who sent the letter on Friday, said MPs were demanding answers and urged boss Martin Seidenberg to share updates on how the investigation was progressing.
He wrote: “When we met recently, I highlighted that I am very concerned about the impact of counterfeit stamps on consumers across the country. I welcome the assurances you gave me in that meeting about the steps being taken by Royal Mail to investigate and tackle this issue and the subsequent updates your team have shared with my officials.
“Despite this, I have been alarmed to read further press coverage in recent days about large volumes of counterfeit stamps entering circulation and the resulting detriment and costs to customers. I’d strongly urge that you redouble your efforts to investigate the source of these stamps, prevent their sale and hold those responsible properly accountable.
“Rightly, there is significant interest from my Parliamentary colleagues in tackling the scourge of these counterfeiters, so I would welcome any updates you are able to provide so that I can also update them.”
Mr Hollinrake added he was happy to facilitate discussions with other parts of government, as well as setting up a conversation with UK Border Force after Royal Mail accused officers of not doing enough to stop counterfeit stamps entering Britain.
While Royal Mail insists its processes are “secure”, a senior executive revealed last weekend that the postal service’s machines are not always able to scan new barcodes correctly, meaning some genuine stamps have been mistakenly labelled as suspicious, although final decisions are always made by a human expert.
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