Royal Mail and "invalid" stamp

Yorkie1

My Mum sent me a letter last week, using a non-barcoded 1st class stamp. 

According to the Royal Mail website and on this site, they are fine to use (or swap) until the end of July.

However, RM have marked the "stamp invalid" and I had to pay a fee to receive the letter.

Any ideas why this might have happened? And, assuming they shouldn't have done this, where the best place to complain to would be?

The stamp was definitely legitimate - my Mum is over 80 and only buys stamps at her local Post Office.

DullGreyGuy

Considering the cost of a stamp... let's hear the full story. You are clearly in contact with your mother so what has she sent you that you need so desperately but aren't willing to pay the circa £2 to receive it?

Until you have received the item it's very difficult to ascertain the issue with the stamp applied to decide the right action to take. 

Yorkie1

Thank you for your reply, but you've made some assumptions there and not read what I posted.

As I stated in my first post, I have already paid the fee to receive the letter. It matters not what was in the letter.

I am more concerned about the fact that she is using stamps bought from the RM, which the RM publicly says are valid to use without surcharge being applied, but they have marked as invalid.

I would be grateful for any constructive thoughts about the best way to approach this. I don't want RM to keep marking her stamps as invalid, when they are not invalid. And I don't want either myself - or anyone else she writes to - to have to pay a fee each time.

MikeJXE

Could it be the size or the weight of the letter making a first class stamp invalid ? 

Yorkie1

Definitely not, but thanks for the suggestion. The envelope is about 10-12 cm square, with just a single card in it. So definitely under the dimension and weight for a standard letter.

There's literally space for the yellow sticker that says "Fee to pay", and "Invalid stamp", - and the original stamp, plus about 3 cm width.

MikeJXE

Sorry I have not got the foggiest, didn't have in the first place but the size came into my head from a letter I sent last week that had to be classed as a parcel, to thick to go through the slot plus one I sent this week at least 10x larger was the same price 

You could ask the post office 

user1977

Yorkie1 said:

I am more concerned about the fact that she is using stamps bought from the RM

She hasn't bought them from the RM, she's bought them from "her local Post Office". You may wish to invite the RM (and not her local Post Office...) to take a closer look at what she was sold.

Money_Grabber13579

I suspect the issue is due to a lack of training within RM and also due to the fact that RM changed their mind as to when the stamps would become invalid. The best approach would have been to get the delivery office to explain why the stamp was considered invalid at the time of collection as that may have resulted in the surcharge being cancelled.

still worth emailing RM though to complain as I suspect it isn’t an isolated incident.

photome

who did you pay the fee to?  did you ask them why ?

was the stamp marked 1st  or did it  had a value on it

TELLIT01

If you still have the envelope you really need to go to the local sorting/delivery office and ask them.  It may be that somebody ticked the wrong box and the charge is for inadequate postage.  If they still claim it's an invalid stamp ask them in what way it is invalid given the extension in the time allowed to use the old style stamps.

Manxman_in_exile

Yorkie1 said:

....However, RM have marked the "stamp invalid" and I had to pay a fee to receive the letter....

So what actually happened?

Did you first receive one of these "Fee to pay" cards, and how did you pay?

Fee to pay card: Additional postage & customs fees (royalmail.com)