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Hi Everybody - here I am with an update.
I have had a reply from Royal Mail and I have also spoken to them - the upshot is as follows : If Royal Mail supply the retailer direct, the retailer/shop is bound by Royal Mail's T's & C's. If the shop buys the stamps elsewhere and then sells them he is NOT legally bound to sell them for face value. They tell me it is a very grey area, and that it ruins Royal Mail's reputation. However, they also told me that they are in the process of investigating my local shop. I just don't like getting ripped off.
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