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By Linn’s Staff
A new stamp scanner on Royal Mail’s free mobile phone app allows users to scan a stamp’s barcode to check if it is a known counterfeit, Great Britain’s Royal Mail announced July 30.
“The stamp scanner has been designed to provide extra reassurance to customers who may be unsure about whether a stamp is counterfeit or not,” Royal Mail said. “Customers can use the app to check whether [a stamp] is a known counterfeit, preventing them from inadvertently becoming victims of fraud.”
Royal Mail advises customers who did not purchase their stamps from Royal Mail, post offices or other reputable outlets to scan their stamps before use.
On July 30 Royal Mail also announced the appointment of Stanley Gibbons as an independent arbitrator in cases where a customer disputes a charge against them for using a counterfeit stamp.
The arbitration will be the final stage of the complaints procedure, the July 30 announcement said, and Stanley Gibbons’ decision will be both binding and fully independent of Royal Mail.
Royal Mail raised the fine for mail found with no postage or a counterfeit stamp from £2.50 to £5 in October 2023, and then decided to pause fines in April 2024 after receiving growing complaints from recipients of letters who were fined £5 despite the stamps being purchased from legitimate sources (Linn’s, May 20, 2024, page 12).
Royal Mail announced April 29 that it would pause collecting fines for mail sent with suspected counterfeit stamps. Royal Mail said at the time that it planned to add an independent stamp expert and to reinstate the fines once a counterfeit stamp scanner was developed.
On July 30 Royal Mail said the pause in collecting fines for recipients of mail sent with suspected counterfeit stamps would be extended, but when possible the sender would still be located and fined. Royal Mail will continue applying stickers to mail using stamps identified as counterfeits.
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