Royal Mail apologises after wrongly claiming real stamps were fake

ROYAL Mail admitted yesterday it incorrectly branded a genuine firstclass stamp as counterfeit.

- Emily Braeger

The postal service said earlier this week it was investigating a problem with barcoded stamps after claims that people had been wrongly fined to collect post with stamps that had been deemed fake.

Postmasters have said the allegedly counterfeit stamps were bought from Royal Mail directly, prompting fears that they are mistakenly being identified as fake.

After investigating the case of Catherine Prest, 68, the company confirmed hers was in fact genuine.

She complained to Royal Mail after her son was told he had to pay £5 to retrieve a letter she had sent because the stamp was counterfeit.

'Failed'