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The Royal Mail is urging people to swap their stamps ahead of an impending deadline. The firm has confirmed old stamps that feature the profile of Her Late Majesty The Queen on a plain coloured background without a barcode will no longer be valid.
The stamps with the Queen on will be phased out and 31 January 2023 is the deadline. Despite the deadline, the company has confirmed there would be a six-month “grace period”.
This would mean stamps are valid until July 31, not January. Martin Lewis has warned: “Despite a series of misleading Royal Mail adverts saying otherwise, non-barcoded stamps with a profile of the Queen’s head can still be used for another six months.”
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The Royal Mail’s “Swap Out” scheme lets you exchange the stamps for free by completing a form. You need to use a standard form for stamps worth up to £200, or a bulk stamp form for stamps worth more than £200 both of which can be downloaded online.
The new stamps are similar to the previous ones except they have barcodes to make them more easily identifiable. Royal Mail warned: “Please do not try to exchange your stamps at your post office branch, as they will not be able to do this. You can only do this directly with Royal Mail.”
The new stamps are similar to the previous ones except they have barcodes to make them more easily identifiable. Royal Mail introduced barcodes to its stamps in February as part of what the company described as an extensive modernisation drive.
Nick Landon, the Royal Mail chief commercial officer, said: “Introducing unique barcodes on our postage stamps allows us to connect the physical letter with the digital world and opens up the possibilities for a range of new innovative services in future.” The Royal Mail Customer Experience Team can also be contacted on 03457 740740.
