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Martin Lewis is issuing a warning to every Royal Mail customer as the letter firm has announced a price hike on the cost of sending post set to take effect in just a few days.
The money expert is urging people to stockpile stamps as soon as possible because the price of first and second class stamps is going up from April 3.
But there is a way to beat the hike, because stamps stay valid no matter what price you paid for them, so if you stock up now, you can get in before prices rise.
Read More: Martin Lewis urges everyone with a payslip to check it now
Speaking on the latest edition of the Martin Lewis Money Show, Martin told ITV1 viewers: “On the 3rd of April 1st class stamps rise to £1.10. Up 15p. I know! Stamps over a quid” he told his audience as they started to audibly boo the news.
He continued: “Second class stamps 75p, up 7p. But look, here’s the thing with stamps, if you buy them and they say 1st and 2nd it doesn’t matter what price you paid, they are still valid.
“Just make sure if you’re buying them now, that they are barcoded stamps on the side, because if they aren’t barcoded stamps you’ll have to swap them in for something else.”
(Image: ITV)
That neatly segues onto a second deadline which is also looming for Royal Mail customers. From July 31, stamps that don’t have a barcode on them will no longer be usable at all.
You only have until July 31 to use them up or swap them at a Post Office, after a previous deadline off January 31 was extended for a final 6 months.
Royal Mail said: “Mail posted with non-barcoded Definitive stamps after 31 January 2023, will for the first six months be delivered as normal, no surcharge will be raised.
“After this six month grace period, an item with a non-barcoded stamp would be treated as if there is insufficient postage. Any item that has insufficient postage is subject to a surcharge. Surcharge fees can be found on our website.”
Royal Mail, which has no links to the state these days and is now owned by a company called International Distribution Services, has apparently seen the volume of letters being posted drop by 25% since the pandemic.
Letter numbers have dropped from 20 billion a year in 2004 to just 8 billion per year now, but the number of addressed available to post to has risen by 4 million.
Royal Mail insisted its prices are ‘competitive’ with Europe, where the median price to post a first class letter is £1.25.
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