China has been accused of flooding Britain with fake Royal Mail stamps. The Daily Telegraph reported that sources close to Royal Mail said the fakes from the Asian country were causing a surge in complaints that stamps bought from legitimate shops were being deemed fraudulent, which could result in a £5 fine. The newspaper identified four Chinese suppliers who are offering to print up to a million fake Royal Mail stamps a week. The stamps are being sold for just 4p each before they are delivered to the UK.The counterfeits have also been found on Amazon and eBay, and on websites copying the official Royal Mail store, the newspaper said. These stamps are being unknowingly bought by small retailers who are allowed to buy stamps from wholesalers, rather than directly from Royal Mail.
UK Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake told the Daily Mail: "It is crucial that we prevent counterfeit postage stamps from entering our UK supply chain. "The Royal Mail must do everything it can to prevent counterfeits from entering circulation and must identify where they come from and how they enter our market."
The Times reported that a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London called the claims “absurd.” He said: “This is completely ridiculous, absurd and unintentional. “If this case really happened, the first thing that should be done is to conduct a thorough investigation into the internal supply chain, rather than blowing the whistle on it in the media.” This comes a week after the Telegraph reported that Royal Mail was investigating claims that people were wrongly fined after being sent letters with new barcode stamps that were found to be fake.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We work hard to remove counterfeit stamps from circulation. “We regularly monitor online marketplaces to detect suspicious activity, such as the sale of stamps at significant discounts, and we work closely with retailers and law enforcement to identify those producing counterfeit stamps. “We work closely with a number of police forces across the country and in recent cases have found over £250,000 worth of retail stamps.”