It's been quite a long time since anybody reported having perfectly valid stamps declared invalid, and then two arrive almost together. I think I can see why there might be confusion, but at by now, there shouldn't be.
The first one, from JR, had the 2007 1st class Lion for the World Cup 2007 Smilers Sheet, or MS; of course the similar definitive is no longer valid but....
The complaints process has been started!
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| £2.50 surcharge on 1st class 'Wembley' Lion stamp, used July 2025. |
The second, from IY, has the 2018 2nd class Christmas stamp. It's pre-datamatrix (which started in 2021) but that doesn't matter, because in 2021 the 2nd & 1st class stamps were issued in both formats and both remain valid!
In this case a refund of a booklet of 1st class stamps was 'paid out' by Royal Mail - but the customer is not only inconvenienced initially but then again in the effort to get a refund.
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| £2.50 surcharge on 2nd class 2019 Christmas stamp used May 2025. |
Who else has had this problem this year?
It's sadly no surprise that there are more. This one from CP shows the 175th Anniversary of the Penny Black 6 x 1st retail booklet, processed at Chester Mail Centre. Unfortunately the yellow labels don't indicate where they were applied. This time the stamp is identified as 'Counterfeit', rather than 'No Longer Valid'. This seems like guesswork to me.
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| 1d black 175th anniversary stamp mis-identified as Counterfeit |
