A man trying to exchange his unused non-barcoded stamps bought from Post Office for new barcoded versions has been told more than half of them are "invalid".
Royal Mail is withholding 77 of his stamps, worth a total of £58.52, because they claim they are either "used or not genuine".
John Peters*, from Swindon, said the idea his local Post Office sold him counterfeit stamps was "preposterous".
In December 2020, the businessman bought 300 second-class and 300 first-class stamps, then worth £423, from his local Post Office. The bulk order was sold as six sheets of 100 stamps, and Mr Peters subsequently stored them safely in his office drawer.
He told GB News: “At that time, the prices were going to increase significantly, so I bought stamps then as I use a lot, to last me a year or two.”
Royal Mail began adding barcodes to all stamps in 2022 as part of its “extensive and ongoing modernisation drive”, and non-barcoded stamps are now no longer valid for postage.
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Royal Mail has refused to swap 77 of Mr Peters' stamps for barcoded versions despite them being bought from Post Office
PA | GETTY | GB NEWS
Last summer, Mr Peters sent 155 of these non-barcoded stamps to Royal Mail to be exchanged for barcoded versions via the free "Swap Out" scheme.
Royal Mail swapped 78 of his stamps but refused to replace the remaining 77, claiming they were "either stamps which have already been used or were not genuine Royal Mail stamps".
The letter stated they recommend customers "always buy stamps from reputable Royal Mail-approved outlets". The letter added: "If in doubt, stamps are available in Post Offices throughout the UK and on the Royal Mail shop."
Mr Peters was subsequently told the stamps had undergone "two robust checks".
Royal Mail said they could not provide any further details "for security reasons" but said they "have been identified as not being valid for postage".
The firm has also withheld the stamps, informing him: "As it's a crime to knowingly use stamps that have either already been used or are not genuine, I am unable to return the stamps to you."
Mr Peters has provided Royal Mail with the receipt, and requested Royal Mail either exchanges them for barcoded stamps, refunds the value of £58.52 or returns the original stamps to him so he can return them to the local Post Office.
He referred the matter to the Postal Review Panel in November last year. They told him they asked for a "further inspection to be made" but that the non-barcoded stamps were "confirmed again as invalid". As a result, they refused to return the stamps or arrange for replacement barcoded stamps to be sent.
Mr Peters said: "I just feel hopelessly incapacitated with all of this, because there's nothing I can do. My hands are tied."
Having used his local Post Office for 35 years, he's confident they wouldn't try to sell him invalid stamps.
He said: "It's a man I've known all my working life. I exchange money, and do all sorts of business there, as one does.
"I don't have any hesitation that he would have sold me fake stamps."
Mr Peters later found some more of the unused non-barcoded stamps from the batch of 600 in his drawer. This time, he photographed them before submitting them in the Swap Out scheme using a different name and address.
All 104 of these non-barcoded stamps, with a value of £109, were exchanged for barcoded versions.
He said: "It's the way that I've been treated by all of this. You're accused [of submitting invalid stamps] but you don't have a recourse. They've withheld the stamps.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “It is vital we can investigate any instance where a customer believes their stamps have been incorrectly identified as counterfeit or pre-used.
“We have a robust, multistage process in place when assessing whether stamps submitted for swap out 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.
“The stamps submitted for swap out by Mr Peters were checked by our internal experts and 77 of them were found to be counterfeit. These stamps then went through our appeals process and were assessed by the independent Postal Review Panel and were again found to be counterfeit.”
A Post Office spokesperson said: “Stamps are available to buy from a number of different sources. Post Office Ltd receives its stamps direct from Royal Mail’s secure printers. Customers who buy stamps at Post Offices are given an itemised receipt, and this is required by Post Office to investigate any allegations of fake stamps.
“In this instance the receipt is for stamps purchased in 2020, which will make it very difficult to establish what could have happened nearly four years ago. However, the business customer is a regular user of this branch and we are making enquiries to try to establish what may have happened as well as liaising with Royal Mail who are responsible for stamps.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Royal Mail has rolled out barcoded stamps and the former non-barcoded stamps are not valid for postage
PA
An investigation by GB News in January found Royal Mail has charged people across the UK £5 for "counterfeit" stamps bought at Post Office. GB News has seen examples of first and second class barcoded stamps, of both the Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III definitives, being deemed “counterfeit”.
Post Office apologised and offered compensation to a customer this month after GB News alerted Post Office to Royal Mail deeming her stamp "counterfeit”.
The firm said they were "sincerely sorry" but said they were "unable to explain why only one of the stamps taken from a book of stamps was deemed counterfeit by Royal Mail”.
A Post Office spokesperson told GB News: “We want to sincerely apologise for the experience Natasha had after purchasing stamps from one of our Post Offices.
“We have apologised to Natasha and as a gesture of goodwill have offered a £25 cash voucher.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Royal Mail takes the counterfeiting of postage stamps seriously. The practice is illegal. We also recognise the inconvenience and financial loss incurred by our customers who believe they are purchasing legitimate Royal Mail stamps.
“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 then follow a robust, multistage process 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.”
*Name has been changed
