Royal Mail mystery as Brits furious after being hit with £5 fines for ‘counterfeit’ stamps

If the post is deemed to have been sent with a “counterfeit” stamp, then Royal will put a yellow sticker on it, which warns the recipient they have to pay a fee of £5

Royal Mail has been accused of charging £5 fines for “counterfeit” stamps despite people claiming they purchased them from legitimate sources – including the Post Office.

A new investigation claims people have been left “frustrated” and “mortified” after being charged the fine. If the post is deemed to have been sent with a “counterfeit” stamp, then Royal will put a yellow sticker on it, which warns the recipient they have to pay a fee of £5.

The £5 charge is four times the price of a standard first-class stamp, which is set to rise to £1.35 on April 2. Money Mail claims the issue links back to Royal Mail replacing its old stamps with ones that have barcodes, so you can track and trace your post. It claims some readers have been in touch to say they received the stamp which was later deemed “counterfeit” through the Royal Mail “Swap Out” scheme, which allows you to trade in any old stamps for their new barcode equivalent.

Puzzled Brits have been questioning Royal Mail on social media. In a post on Twitter/X, one person said: “We got stamps from the Bristol Galleries Post Office and people received their post from us said they received a counterfeit. We bought it from a legit source at the official Post Office…”

Another asked: “Can you explain why I’ve just had to pay £5 to collect a standard card. Apparently a counterfeit stamp, but sender bought stamps from Post Office!” And a third said: “Send stamps back to be swapped and they say they are fraudulent stamps, that I bought from a Post Office!”

The Post Office told Money Mail that it receives its stamps directly from the Royal Mail secure printers. Royal Mail did not reveal if it has launched an investigation, or how many £5 fines have been issued over the “counterfeit” stamps.

A Royal Mail spokesman told The Mirror : “It is vital we can investigate any instance where a person believes their stamps have been incorrectly identified as counterfeit or pre-used. To do this, we require any customer who believes they have been incorrectly surcharged to send the envelope with the barcoded stamp attached to us, along with the exact location of where the stamp was purchased.

“We have a robust, multistage process in place when assessing whether barcoded stamps are genuine. This includes a thorough examination using specialist equipment, then a follow up inspection by a skilled member of the team before any stamp is marked as counterfeit or pre-used. We will always happily review individual cases and if an error has been made then we will of course correct it.”