Royal Mail barcoding stamps - existing stamps valid only until 31 Jan 2023

akh43

akh43 said:

I sent my stamps back on 31 July and just received back today.  So glad I took pictures of the form and stamps as 4 large 1st class were missing, I sent 24 and got 20 back.  Just rang and spoke to a helpful adviser who checked and is now sending me my missing 4 large 1st class stamps.  I would recommend anyone sending back to take pictures as evidence.

Just received my 4 missing stamps today with an apology that not all the stamps were included.

Money_Grabber13579

Rantband said:

"Plus, you can see why RM have now gone to the trouble to barcode them."

Have you seen the amount of barcoded stamps now on offer via Ebay ?

Yep, and most of them will be fakes too. As to whether they will ever make it through the postal system remains to be seen…

HonestJohn

RM can do what they want. They will not return the so called fakes. They are judge, jury and executioner. LIke they don't make mistakes.

GDB2222

HonestJohn said:

RM can do what they want. They will not return the so called fakes. They are judge, jury and executioner. LIke they don't make mistakes.

You try changing a fake banknote at a bank. Not only will they keep it, but they may well call the police. 

My impression is that the RM employees dealing with this are very meticulous.  It's unlikely they are wrong.

I think you should simply accept that you bought fakes, and you have been tumbled. If you bought them in good faith, paying full price, you still bought fakes, but I am sorry for you.

If you bought an obvious fake on ebay, paying flumpence in the pound and hoping to defraud RM, you have only yourself to blame.

CP42

Would have bought them from either Tesco, CoOp or McColl's. I sent all the 1st class ones first & all were replaced. Then sent all the 2nd class ones which is when this problem began. I would have bought all the stamps from the same shops. Usually I would bulk-buy several booklets just before the prices went up end March/beginning April.  At the time my husband was self employed & I had to send out estimates & bills after work done which is why I had so many. His business ended with the Covid lockdowns so we're left with lots of stamps. I am really annoyed about this! Who can afford to lose £45-worth of stamps in the current financial situation?

HonestJohn

GDB2222 said:

HonestJohn said:

RM can do what they want. They will not return the so called fakes. They are judge, jury and executioner. LIke they don't make mistakes.

You try changing a fake banknote at a bank. Not only will they keep it, but they may well call the police. 

My impression is that the RM employees dealing with this are very meticulous.  It's unlikely they are wrong.

I think you should simply accept that you bought fakes, and you have been tumbled. If you bought them in good faith, paying full price, you still bought fakes, but I am sorry for you.

If you bought an obvious fake on ebay, paying flumpence in the pound and hoping to defraud RM, you have only yourself to blame.

I think they should have a duty to explain their decision. I had a book declined that I had thoroughly checked. I would like to know where I went wrong. They also got their sums wrong for the 'legal' stamps I returned. Not very meticulous then. I am not alone.

GDB2222

HonestJohn said:

GDB2222 said:

HonestJohn said:

RM can do what they want. They will not return the so called fakes. They are judge, jury and executioner. LIke they don't make mistakes.

You try changing a fake banknote at a bank. Not only will they keep it, but they may well call the police. 

My impression is that the RM employees dealing with this are very meticulous.  It's unlikely they are wrong.

I think you should simply accept that you bought fakes, and you have been tumbled. If you bought them in good faith, paying full price, you still bought fakes, but I am sorry for you.

If you bought an obvious fake on ebay, paying flumpence in the pound and hoping to defraud RM, you have only yourself to blame.

I think they should have a duty to explain their decision. I had a book declined that I had thoroughly checked. I would like to know where I went wrong. They also got their sums wrong for the 'legal' stamps I returned. Not very meticulous then. I am not alone.

 " I had a book declined that I had thoroughly checked."   - What did you do to check it? You examined it under UV light, obviously. But what have you been trained to look for?

Presumably, you have a photo of the UV scan, so can you post that please?

GDB2222

CP42 said:

Would have bought them from either Tesco, CoOp or McColl's. I sent all the 1st class ones first & all were replaced. Then sent all the 2nd class ones which is when this problem began. I would have bought all the stamps from the same shops. Usually I would bulk-buy several booklets just before the prices went up end March/beginning April.  At the time my husband was self employed & I had to send out estimates & bills after work done which is why I had so many. His business ended with the Covid lockdowns so we're left with lots of stamps. I am really annoyed about this! Who can afford to lose £45-worth of stamps in the current financial situation?

I sympathise, but the people you need to complain to are those who sold you the fakes.

After I closed my business, I counted up all the stamps, and I have hundreds of pounds worth to use up. As ebay is flooded with fakes, I can't sell my genuine ones there for more than a few ££.

HonestJohn

GDB2222 said:

HonestJohn said:

GDB2222 said:

HonestJohn said:

RM can do what they want. They will not return the so called fakes. They are judge, jury and executioner. LIke they don't make mistakes.

You try changing a fake banknote at a bank. Not only will they keep it, but they may well call the police. 

My impression is that the RM employees dealing with this are very meticulous.  It's unlikely they are wrong.

I think you should simply accept that you bought fakes, and you have been tumbled. If you bought them in good faith, paying full price, you still bought fakes, but I am sorry for you.

If you bought an obvious fake on ebay, paying flumpence in the pound and hoping to defraud RM, you have only yourself to blame.

I think they should have a duty to explain their decision. I had a book declined that I had thoroughly checked. I would like to know where I went wrong. They also got their sums wrong for the 'legal' stamps I returned. Not very meticulous then. I am not alone.

 " I had a book declined that I had thoroughly checked."   - What did you do to check it? You examined it under UV light, obviously. But what have you been trained to look for?

Presumably, you have a photo of the UV scan, so can you post that please?

I checked under a UV light. I compared the perforations and watermarks with other stamps. Also the booklet has a security code pattern which checked out okay. You obvoiusly have an issue that you can't sell your stamps but you surely can't agree that RM are above the law. Looked what happened with the PO and Horizon.

Money_Grabber13579

I can see it from both angles. From the consumer’s perspective, it only seems fair that they are told why their stamps are being rejected. However, if Royal Mail explain why stamps are being rejected, they potentially tip off the manufacturers of the fake stamps as to what they need to change in the production of future fakes. Perhaps a right of appeal to an independent adjudicator would be the fairest solution to all parties, but I can’t see that happening, not least because of the costs involved.