Royal Mail launches probe after minister steps in over £5 fines for ‘counterfeit’ barcodes
An investigation has been launched by Royal Mail following the row last month over charges for so-called counterfeit versions of its new barcoded stamps.
Many customers have claimed they have been wrongly fined £5 for receiving letters with stamps which were bought from post offices but that the delivery service had identified as fake.
Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake told the Daily Telegraph: “We spoke to Royal Mail and they are investigating and they are working alongside the Post Office and other retailers to try to ascertain the source of the problem.”
Postmasters have said the allegedly counterfeit stamps were bought directly from Royal Mail for their post office supplies, while RM claims its processes are “secure” with “specialist equipment” scanning devices used in sorting offices to assess whether a stamp is genuine, and the added security features of the barcode means it has significantly reduced stamp fraud.
Martin Seidenberg, ceo of RM’s parent company International Distributions Services, committed to investigating the issue following a meeting on Tuesday, 2 April with the minister, who told the paper he was keeping an open mind as to whether the fault lay with Royal Mail or postmasters.
He said: “I don’t think it’s right to make accusations without evidence. I haven’t got any evidence [of postmasters selling counterfeit stamps] so that’s why you investigate these cases to see where the truth lies but, of course, anyone who is guilty of anything should be dealt with properly.”
It’s understood an official probe is yet to be launched, but the Royal Mail has vowed to work with retailers, including the Post Office, to identify the “source of the problem”.
The Post Office said any allegation that fake stamps were bought at one of its branches is “extremely serious” as it implied that a postmaster or staff member had swapped genuine stamps with counterfeits.
Postmasters have welcomed the news of the investigation, and the chair of one campaign group, which represents those wrongly convicted during then Horizon It scandal, told the Telegraph: “It goes without saying that postmasters do not want to have to deal with false accusations about something else.”
Richard Trinder, who runs 900-member campaign group Voice Of The Postmaster and his own post office in Sheffield where he has stamps delivered directly from Royal Mail’s Swindon office, said: “We would all absolutely welcome any investigation into this.
“In our branch, we have had two or three customers coming in and saying they have been fined for these stamps and I’ve heard of around 10 or 20 other postmasters who’ve had similar experiences.”
