First class decision! Royal Mail ditches controversial £5 fines on letters ... trends now

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Royal Mail has scrapped ­controversial fines on letters sent using 'fake' stamps.

Following pressure from this newspaper, the postal service will cease charging recipients £5 to collect post sent with stamps that it has deemed counterfeit until at least July while it develops a smartphone app to highlight fakes.

The app will allow customers to scan stamp barcodes to check they are genuine.

But experts have warned this will not support elderly customers who still depend on the postal service to pay utility bills or deposit cheques.

Royal Mail has been heavily criticised in recent months after its move to use only barcoded stamps led to an increase in the number of customers receiving a £5 penalty, with claims the stamps were fakes.