By Alex Brummer In Washington and Jessica Clark Updated: 17:00 EDT, 18 April 2024 The Chancellor has voiced concerns over the proposed takeover of Royal Mail by a billionaire dubbed the ‘Czech Sphinx’ in a sign that a deal could be blocked. As analysts suggested that tycoon Daniel Kretinsky would …
Read More »G7 fights for Ukraine cash as Russia’s economy booms – ALEX BRUMMER
By Alex Brummer for the Daily Mail Updated: 17:00 EDT, 18 April 2024 The main focus for the Western democracies at this finance gathering has been Ukraine in spite of the conflagration in the Middle East. The worry for the UK and Europe is that, unless new resources are released, …
Read More »‘Royal Mail delivered my son’s birthday card eight years late – then fined me’
More recently Royal Mail has become embroiled in a row after a Telegraph investigation revealed that China had flooded Britain with counterfeit stamps, landing victims with £5 penalties. Senior MPs have since called on the postal service to stop the “unfair fines” while it investigates issues with new barcoded stamps, …
Read More »Czech Sphinx launches audacious swoop on troubled Royal Mail
By Jessica Clark Updated: 17:00 EDT, 17 April 2024 A billionaire dubbed the ‘Czech Sphinx’ has launched an audacious swoop on Royal Mail that could see the 508-year-old postal service fall into foreign hands. Daniel Kretinsky, who co-owns West Ham United and has a stake in Sainsbury’s, has already seen …
Read More »Royal Mail insists it will keep fining innocent victims of counterfeit stamps
Britain being flooded with as many as one million fake stamps a week from China By Toby Walne Updated: 17:28 EDT, 16 April 2024 Money Mail today demands that Royal Mail stops fining thousands of innocent people with a £5 penalty for receiving mail with a counterfeit stamp. We insist …
Read More »Fake stamps farce ‘undermining Britain’s social fabric’, Post Office warns
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 …
Read More »Why customers went cold on Pret’s coffee subscription
It quickly became the must-have membership of the Covid era. When the Pret coffee subscription was launched in September 2020, it cost £20 a month, with the first month free. Customers loved it. Five drinks a day, ranging from coffee and tea to smoothies, and a sign-up process which saw subscribers sent …
Read More »Counterfeit stamp fines must be suspended, Royal Mail told
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 …
Read More »Our machines can mistake genuine stamps for fakes, Royal Mail executive admits
An executive at Royal Mail said: “When letters arrive at the mail centre, they all go through the system and the barcode is read. If the barcode comes up as suspicious it is rejected and goes into a separate channel for further checks. “A revenue protection person will then inspect …
Read More »Royal Mail accuses Border Force of failing to stop fake stamps from China
Alicia Kearns, chairman of the foreign affairs committee, demanded the Chinese state launch an investigation and crack down on factories “brazenly” producing the counterfeits. She said: “It is incumbent upon the Chinese state to now crack down on these companies who are openly supporting illicit trade in stamps, investigate printing …
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