To think stamp barcodes will reduce the number of poison-pen letters.

[thirdlaw]

Royal Mail have introduced bar codes on their stamps. Each stamp is now uniquely identifiable. The barcodes don't contain any personal information, but it will presumably be possible to determine the location and time of purchase, assuming the retailer scans the barcode on the book of stamps when you buy it. Aibu to think this will make people think twice about sending poison pen letters, especially the ones that might be nasty enough to warrant police investigation?

I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere - Royal Mail just say they are to improve security, with no detail on what they mean by that.

I doubt it. Where there’s a will, there will
be a way and all that. If someone really wants to send one. They will.

Surely poison pen letters died out 25 years ago? This cannot be a problem is 2023.

Even so, you'd just purchase the stamps when you were the other end of the country on business or holiday, if you were that committed to it.

I just assumed it would be like tins of soup at the supermarket. One barcode for all the cream of mushroom ones, not one for each single tin of CoM.

And yet you were bored enough to answer!

Why are they stolen!?

DDad worked for Royal Mail so got 290 each Christmas and I don’t remember ever having to buy a stamp in my entire life, he retired 3y ago and still has about 800+. If he used Facebook he would absolutely have sold some on!

The biggest reason for the demise of poison pen letters must surely be the decline in printed newspapers for the authors to cut out the letters from 😂

Do you get a lot of poison pen letters op?! I thought it was so people did not reuse stamps.

I was just struck by the thought that poison pen letters are another victim of our collective impatience.

Years ago you would pen your nefarious missive and post it … and wait … and wait … and wait … after the appropriate amount of time you could gleefully sit back and know your job was done and you’d given your target the what for.

These days it’s all rush rush rush….

Sorry op but this thread has really made me laugh 😂

Poison pen letters would be better than catfishing on IM. The only catfish I tolerate are the bullheads in the pond.

<hides Exacto Knife, pile of magazines and bottle of rubber cement>

That's me buggered then.

😂

www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4720710-anyone-work-for-royal-mail-the-post-office-i-have-a-stamp-question?reply=123108462

I've had it confirmed that you can no longer reuse stamps. The amount of people sent down for this postal fraud will surely reduce now.

Poison pen letters haven't impacted my life nearly as much as I thought they might. Ditto quicksand.

I do miss midnight feasts though.

Maybe chain letters too OP? I received one as a child in the 80s and it freaked me out because I didn't forward it on.

Or secret passageways.

Or get an expert to analyse the typeface and compare it to the suspect's manual typewriter which has a slight smudge on the 'p'.

Not a poison pen letter per se, but my best friend got an anonymous letter, words and letters cut out of newspapers, the works, telling her that her dh was having an affair and who he was having it with. It was hand delivered though so no stamp. It was true too, it ended their 20 year marriage.

Can't imagine anyone bothering!

😂

There was an agony aunt, can't remember which one, who used to tell people to send them to her and she'd destroy them
Bloody pain they were

PC Barnaby is about to have his caseload significantly lowered. Phew!

Just crazy
I buy some at Christmas that's about the only time

Almost spat out my tea at that!!!