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Whistleblowers in delivery offices have also painted a picture of chaos and confusion.
Staff admitted they routinely sent back letters with so-called counterfeit stamps to regional mail centres for review believing Revenue Protection – the department responsible for inspecting letters and distributing fines – were making “a lot of mistakes”.
Others said they were turning to Google to identify counterfeit stamps due to a lack of training and would often not charge customers because they didn’t trust the decision made by the Revenue Protection team.
In an internal memo sent last week, Royal Mail has told staff to now attach an advisory label rather than issuing a £5 surcharge.
The yellow sticker reads: “This item has been identified as bearing a counterfeit stamp. You may wish to advise the sender. A surcharge has not been applied on this occasion.”
However, if a letter does include the return address, the letter will be returned and the sender will be charged £5 for using a counterfeit stamp.
While the change will be enforced from April 29, the U-turn is so abrupt Royal Mail has not managed to print the advisory labels yet.
Staff have been told to apply the label “once in stock and released for delivery”.
They have also been advised the change will be in place for a minimum of three months but this could be extended.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Post Office minister, said: “It’s good news. I don’t think there is anything wrong with Royal Mail saying ‘we have listened to people’s concerns which have been raised in various quarters, and have changed our position accordingly’.
“I definitely would pay tribute to The Telegraph for the work it has done on this, a key part of making sure those concerns were heard and then acted upon.
“The app is a good idea and should get counterfeits out of the system which is really what we all want.”
Political pressure has been growing on Royal Mail to suspend the “unfair” fines amid fears innocent victims were being wrongly charged.
Mr Hollinrake wrote to Royal Mail’s chief executive last week to stop the fines “until the wider issue is resolved”.
In a letter seen by The Telegraph, the Post Office minister, wrote: “You will be aware of concerns being expressed by parliamentary colleagues about the £5 surcharge being applied, where a number of them have claimed that they have bought stamps from legitimate sources, but which have then been identified as counterfeit by your system.
“I recognise that where fake stamps have been used, it is right that the item should be treated as though no postage has been paid, but we urge you to suspend the £5 charge in such circumstances until the wider issue is resolved where there is some uncertainty that requires further investigation, whether for senders’ individual cases or more generally.”
Royal Mail will also introduce a new independent expert to its “highly trained team of specialists” to verify whether a stamp is genuine, as part of an escalation process for customer complaints. The decision will be fully independent of Royal Mail and the judgment binding.
The firm said it will also be increasing its partnerships with retailers and online marketplaces to jointly stop the sale of counterfeit stamps.
Nick Landon, chief commercial officer of Royal Mail, said: “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 90pc reduction in counterfeit stamps.
“We want our customers to buy stamps with confidence and always recommend that customers only purchase stamps from Post Offices and other reputable high street retailers, and not to buy stamps online – unless from the official Royal Mail shop.”
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