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Martin Lewis and his team have issued a clarification for all those who are using stamps. Royal Mail announced in February last year it would be scrapping everyday stamps that feature a profile of the Queen’s head from January 31 in favour of barcoded versions.
However, this deadline has now been extended to give people more time to adjust. The January 31 deadline has been pushed back 6 months until July 31. The six-month “grace period” gives people longer to use their non-barcoded until they become worthless.
If you think you still won’t have enough time to use your remaining stamps, Royal Mail is offering a swap scheme meaning you can trade old stamps for the new barcoded versions for free.
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(Image: PA Media)
Martin’s Money Saving Expert explains that Royal Mail’s ‘Swap Out’ scheme lets you exchange these stamps for free and there is currently no deadline for swapping out stamps. You’ll need to complete a standard ‘Swap Out’ form for stamps worth up to £200, or a Bulk Stamp ‘Swap Out’ form for stamps worth more than £200.
However, you don’t need to exchange Christmas stamps and ‘special’ stamps with pictures on, as they will continue to be valid after the July deadline. For more info on which stamps you can exchange, see Royal Mail’s FAQs .
How to request a Swap Out form:
There are three ways to get a standard form:
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Phone Royal Mail’s customer services team on 03457 740740 and ask for a form to be posted for free. Calls to this number are capped at your standard geographical rate, so you may want to check with your phone network how much it’ll cost beforehand.
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Visit your local post office OR delivery office where you can pick up a form and envelope in person. ALL delivery and post offices will stock them. This means you’ll be able to fill in a form, pop it into a Freepost envelope with any remaining non-barcoded stamps and hand it over at the post office.
If you need a Bulk Stamp Swap Out form, you can print this out from the Royal Mail website (link opens a PDF) or request one online , or call the Royal Mail customer services number above. There’s no limit on the number of forms you can request.
How you return your stamps to Royal Mail depends on how you picked up your Swap Out form:
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If you collected your form from a local delivery office or post office, or requested one to be sent to you, you’ll have been given a Freepost envelope. Send this off with your stamps once you’re ready.
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If you printed the form yourself, you’ll need to send your own envelope to ‘Freepost SWAP OUT’. It’ll be free to post, and no other address details are needed.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to get proof of postage when you send the Freepost envelope. However, Royal Mail advises that those sending Bulk Swap Out forms send them via special delivery. Royal Mail will refund the additional cost to do this with barcoded stamps worth the same amount.
New stamps should arrive within seven working days:
Royal Mail says it will try to ensure all stamps are swapped within seven working days. If you accidentally send stamps that aren’t part of the Swap Out scheme to Royal Mail, it’s said it will swap them for barcoded stamps – although it encourages people to use those stamps up first if they can.
There have been issues and delays including reports that stamps have gone missing in the post. If you have any issues you should contact Royal Mail on 03457 740740.
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