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Royal Mail (IDS.L) has asked households in the UK to use all unencrypted stamps in the next 100 days before they expire by January 31.
Post office branches will not accept stamps without a barcode from the end of January 2023. The deadline affects “daily” stamps displaying the profile of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
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But, the change will not apply to unencrypted birthday, commemorative and thematic stamps, which customers can still use after the expiration date.
This was in response to customer feedback as some customers said they keep Christmas stamps to use when sending their Christmas cards, and Royal Mail expects households to use this holiday period.
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The encrypted stamps were introduced in February to streamline deliveries and improve security, which the company described as a “widespread and ongoing modernization campaign” at the time.
Customers can scan codes using the Royal Mail app, and over time the goal is to enable people to view videos or messages from other senders or get information about services.
What happens if you can’t use the stamp by the deadline?
People who are unable to use traditional stamps in time will be allowed to exchange them for free.
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Meanwhile, those wishing to swap stamps worth up to £200 can print out a form and send it to the Postal Service free of charge, with their stamps, through the ‘Freepost, Swap Out’ address.
However, unencrypted “special” stamps are not eligible for redemption.
Any postage sent after January 31 with an old stamp will be treated as having no postage at all and therefore subject to an additional charge of £2.50 per letter and £3 for small parcel.
However, charities described the changes as disappointing, especially for families who depend on the mail to pay bills and keep in touch with loved ones.
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Caroline Abrahams, director of the charity Age UK, said: “It is really important that the postal service remains affordable for everyone else, otherwise some older people will be left without a basic form of communication on which they have happily relied for their lives.”
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Will there be stamps depicting the king?
The Royal Mail said its stamp exchange scheme is not linked to the death of the Queen and the change of monarch.
She said more details about the release of stamps depicting King Charles III would be released in due course after consultation with the royal family.
But cryptographic stamps bearing the image of the king will gradually be issued with new coins and banknotes.
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