Australia Post has been left red-faced after an “embarrassing” mistake led to some customers being sent out custom stamps missing an essential detail.
Victorian small business owner David, who asked for his surname to be withheld, is one customer who was sent out sheets of stamps without the dollar sign printed on them.
David ordered 2000 custom-made stamps from Australia Post’s MyStamp service for his collectables business on April 4.
It was a day after Australia Post increased the prices for its regular stamps from $1.20 to $1.50.
“I was waiting eagerly for them to come up with the new pricing, and then I ordered them the next day,” David said.
When the sheets of $1.50 stamps arrived in the mail, David said he didn’t notice anything amiss and began using them.
However, on Wednesday he received an email from Australia Post alerting him to the fact that the stamps were “non-compliant” because they were missing the dollar sign.
David said he found the mistake “kind of hilarious”.
“They had one job, to change the two to a five, and they messed it up,” he said.
“You would think that after so many years of having these stamps that there would be quality control and yet this slipped through for almost a month – it’s kind of crazy.
“Everyone makes mistakes but it’s a bit embarrassing for them.”
Australia Post told 9news.com.au the mistake was a result of a system error.
“A printing error resulted in a small number of personalised stamps being misprinted,” an Australia Post spokesperson said in a statement.
“Australia Post apologises for this error and has contacted customers directly to advise them of the issue.”
Affected customers were told the stamps without the dollar sign could not be used because they were non-compliant.
Replacement stamps were being sent and customers provided with a full refund, the spokesperson said.
