Only two more days to use old barcoded stamps before they become invalid – as alcohol prices also set to rise on Tuesday in double whammy hit

Consumers face a double blow this week as stamps without barcodes will no longer be valid from tomorrow, and increases in alcohol duty kick in on Tuesday.

Anyone ignoring Royal Mail’s deadline for old-style stamps will find their letter being treated as if there is insufficient postage and a surcharge will be due.

People who are stuck with now-useless stamps can exchange them for free in the Royal Mail’s Swap Out scheme. However, the process is a lot more convoluted than simply taking them along to a Post Office.

Instead, you need to pick up a complicated form from the counter – or print one out from a website – complete it and then send it off, along with your stamps, to a freepost address.

The Royal Mail has said that it will it try to ensure people have their new stamps ‘within seven working days’, but already many customers have complained of long delays.

People who are stuck with now-useless stamps can exchange them for free in the Royal Mail’s Swap Out scheme. However, the process is a lot more convoluted than simply taking them along to a Post Office

There are also different forms for stamps worth less than and more than £200 in total.

The Mail on Sunday successfully fought for the deadline for old stamps to be pushed back from January over fears that there had been too little warning.

Christmas stamps and other special stamps with pictures on will remain valid without a barcode.

Meanwhile, the price of alcohol is set to rise across the board from Tuesday, after the Government introduced a new taxing system based on alcohol by volume (ABV).

According to the Treasury, the changes will ‘make the system fairer and responsive to new products entering the market as consumer tastes evolve’.

But drinkers are likely only to notice the price hike – and the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has called the increases potentially ‘crippling’ for the producers it represents.

The WSTA has also calculated that the changes will mean duty on a bottle of wine goes up by 44p, on a bottle of vodka by 76p and on a bottle of port by a whopping £1.30.

The Mail on Sunday has previously revealed how some vineyards were plotting to cut the amount of alcohol in their wine to reduce the duty, despite concerns about the impact this would have on flavour. The phenomenon of ‘drinkflation’ has already seen beer fans hit, with Foster’s lager, Old Speckled Hen, Bishops Finger and Spitfire among brands to have had their alcohol content reduced.

The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that alcohol duties will raise £13.1 billion in the 2023-2024 financial year.