Cancelled Stamps

Dear Mr Jennings

Thank you for your request for information received on 8th June 2009, which
we are considering under the Freedom of Information Act. Under the Act you
should expect a reply from us to be sent by 6th July 2009, which is twenty
working days from receipt of your request.

If for any reason we are unable to provide you with a full response within
that time, we will contact you explaining the reasons for this and giving a
revised date by which we will reply.

If in the mean time you have any questions or would like to contact us
about your request, please contact us by telephone 01252 806513 or
alternatively email or write to us at the address below. Please be assured
that we are giving this our attention and will get back to you shortly.

Yours sincerely

On behalf of Colin Young
[Royal Mail Group request email]
Freedom of Information Unit
PO Box 341, ALDERSHOT, GU11 1WW

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 148 Old Street, LONDON EC1V
9HQ

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Dear Mr Jennings

I am writing in response to your email dated 6^th June 2009 regarding the
cancellation of Postage Stamps. You requested the following information
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act:

1. I understand that the act of signing over a postage stamp cancels the
stamp and makes that person the postmaster. Is this assumption correct and
if so why does this make the person the postmaster?

2. I also understand that machine stamped stamps, for example red stamps
used in office prepaid machines, if not cancelled by a postmark or written
across are actually mail fraud. I believe this is a crime. Can you confirm
if my assumption is correct and indicate the nature of the offence and
which law(s) it contravenes.

In response to your first question, the assumption that the act of signing
over a postage stamp cancels the stamp and makes that person the
postmaster is not correct. One can only become a postmaster by formally
applying to become one and demonstrating that one has premises from which
to run a post office branch. One has to submit to a rigorous appointment
process which includes preparing and presenting a business plan. Only Post
Office Limited can appoint somebody to the position of Postmaster under an
agency contract.

In relation to your second request, the assumption that machine stamped
stamps if not cancelled by a postmark or written across are mail fraud is
also incorrect. There is a whole range of newer products which do not
need to be endorsed or cancelled because they can only be used once or are
self-cancelling. If a stamp that needs to be cancelled, which may not be
the case with certain machine generated images, is not properly cancelled
and that stamp was knowingly used again, this may be an offence under the
Fraud Act 2006.

I hope this suitably answers your questions. However, if you are
dissatisfied with this response for any reason you do have a right to
request an internal review, in which case please write to the Head of
Information Compliance, Royal Mail Group, Company Secretary's Office, 100
Victoria Embankment, LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ. An internal panel will then review
the decision, and you will be advised of the outcome.

If, having requested an internal review by Royal Mail, you are still not
satisfied with our response you also have a right of appeal to the
Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner***s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

John Cere
Freedom of Information Case Officer
[1][Royal Mail Group request email]

References

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1. mailto:[Royal Mail Group request email]

Dear Mr Jennings

Thank you for your request for information received on 01/07/2009, which
we are considering under the Freedom of Information Act. Under the Act
you should expect a reply from us to be sent by 29/07/2009, which is
twenty working days from receipt of your request.

If for any reason we are unable to provide you with a full response within
that time, we will contact you explaining the reasons for this and giving
a revised date by which we will reply.

If in the mean time you have any questions or would like to contact us
about your request, please contact us by telephone 01252 806513 or
alternatively email or write to us at the address below. Please be
assured that we are giving this our attention and will get back to you
shortly.

Yours sincerely

John Cere
[1][Royal Mail Group request email]
Freedom of Information Unit
PO Box 341, ALDERSHOT, GU11 1WW

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in
England and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 148 Old Street, LONDON
EC1V 9HQ

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Royal Mail Group request email]

Dear Mr Jennings

I am writing in response to your email dated 30 June 2009 regarding the
cancellation of Postage Stamps. You asked the following questions:

"What is the purpose of cancelling a stamp, and if someone cancels a stamp
by signing over it, what does this signify, if anything?"

"What does a self cancelled machine generated stamp look like to
distinguish it from a non cancelled stamp?"

Every working day Royal Mail processes and delivers over 75 million items
to 28 million addresses across the UK. Stamps are cancelled to ensure that
they are not re-used in future. Any attempt to reuse a postage stamp would
result in loss of revenue to Royal Mail for the services that it provides.

Stamps on Packets, Large Letters and Manual Letters are cancelled through
the use of a Hand Stamp or a semi-manual Stamp Cancelling Machine.
If an item of mail in the manual sorting areas of Royal Mail's process has
not yet been cancelled, then the un-cancelled stamps are cancelled by
striking through the stamp with a biro. It is not standard procedure for
stamps to be signed through by Royal Mail employees. Stamps on letters
sorted by machine are automatically cancelled by the machine.

Finally, you asked if there is a source of information you could that
would help you learn more on the subject. Additional information on
stamps is published on the Royal Mail websitewww.royalmail.com/stamps.
This provides details of other sources such as the The British Philatelic
Bulletin and Postmark Bulletin.

Certain Royal Mail products or services have the charges, terms and
conditions detailed in documents called ***Schemes***. These Schemes are
published under the Postal Services Act 2000 and mean that it is not
necessary for Royal Mail to have individual contracts with each and every
customer purchasing these products or using these services. They can be
viewed on our website:
[1]http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/conte...

The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) manages the heritage of all our
brands (Royal Mail, Post Office** and Parcelforce Worldwide), working to
increase public access to our nation***s postal history. You can visit the
BPMA in London to use The Royal Mail Archive and Visit the BPMA website
www.postalheritage.org.uk. The BPMA provide detailed information on the
history of postal mechanisation and cancelling:
[2]http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/collect...
[3]http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/collect...

I hope this information is useful to you. If you are dissatisfied with
this response for any reason you do have a right to request an internal
review, in which case please write to the Head of Information Compliance,
Royal Mail Group, Company Secretary's Office, 100 Victoria Embankment,
LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ. An internal panel will then review the decision, and you
will be advised of the outcome.

If, having requested an internal review by Royal Mail, you are still not
satisfied with our response you also have a right of appeal to the
Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner***s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

John Cere
Freedom of Information Case Officer
[4][Royal Mail Group request email]

References

Visible links
1. http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/conte...
2. http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/collect...
3. http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/collect...
4. mailto:[Royal Mail Group request email]

Dear Mr Jennings

Thank you for your request for information received on 20/07/2009, which
we are considering under the Freedom of Information Act. Under the Act
you should expect a reply from us to be sent by 17/08/2009, which is
twenty working days from receipt of your request.

If for any reason we are unable to provide you with a full response within
that time, we will contact you explaining the reasons for this and giving
a revised date by which we will reply.

If in the mean time you have any questions or would like to contact us
about your request, please contact us by telephone 01252 806513 or
alternatively email or write to us at the address below. Please be
assured that we are giving this our attention and will get back to you
shortly.

Yours sincerely

John Cere
[1][Royal Mail Group request email]
Freedom of Information Unit
PO Box 341, ALDERSHOT, GU11 1WW

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in
England and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 148 Old Street, LONDON
EC1V 9HQ

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Royal Mail Group request email]

Dear Mr Jennings

I am writing in response to your email dated 20 July 2009. In relation to
self-cancelling stamps, the relevant product is Smartstamp. This product
prints a label which confirms the amount of postage paid and the type of
service selected and which does not have to be cancelled. It has to be used
within 24 hours of printing or 48 hours in the case of a Sunday bank
holiday, otherwise it becomes invalid. Therefore it does not have to be
cancelled. The Smartstamp product can be used across a broad spectrum of
services including first and second class, recorded and special delivery.
Further information can be found on our website:
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump2...

In relation to your question regarding signing over a stamp, as we
explained in our earlier replies, stamps are cancelled by Royal Mail to
ensure that they are not re-used in future. If a member of the public
signed over a stamp before it was posted, then Royal Mail would need to
assess whether that stamp had been reused. If a stamp is not properly
cancelled and that stamp was knowingly used again, this may be an offence
under the Fraud Act 2006.

I hope this information is useful to you. If you are dissatisfied with this
response for any reason you do have a right to request an internal review,
in which case please write to the Head of Information Compliance, Royal
Mail Group, Company Secretary's Office, 100 Victoria Embankment, LONDON,
EC4Y 0HQ. An internal panel will then review the decision, and you will be
advised of the outcome.

If, having requested an internal review by Royal Mail, you are still not
satisfied with our response you also have a right of appeal to the
Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

Colin Young
Freedom of Information Manager
[Royal Mail Group request email]

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| | "mark: jennings TM" |
| | <request-13066-0979e490@whatdoth|
| | eyknow.com> |
| | Sent by: "mark: jennings TM" |
| | <request-13066-0979e490@whatdoth|
| | eyknow.com> |
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| | 20/07/2009 10:37 |
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| To: [Royal Mail Group request email] |
| cc: |
| Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - Cancelled Stamps |
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Hallo John,

I'm not sure you covered the question about self cancelled machine
stamps which you mentioned previously.

What does a self cancelled one look like, how would I distinguish
it from a non cancelled one.

My question about signing over a stamp was in the context of
someone other than an employee of the Post Office, and wondering as
to the significance of that, if any. Apologies for not being
clearer on that.

Sincerely,

markj TM

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