Royal Mail one week stamp warning as old versions to expire – how to exchange

Anyone with the older style Royal Mail stamps at home has one last week to use or exchange them before they become worthless.

The six month grace period granted to the old style of stamps ends on Monday, July 31. After the deadline, only the new version stamps with barcodes codes will be valid and non-barcoded stamps will be treated as insufficient postage which is subject to a surcharge.

There is an exception as special stamps with pictures and Christmas stamps will be permitted for use. However, if you plenty of regular stamps unlikely to get used up, there is a time to exchange them so you don’t lose out.

Customers won’t be able to exchange their stamps at the Post Office. Instead, the Royal Mail has a ‘Stamp Swap out’ form that can be picked up from your local Post Office or printed out at home.

To swap out your non-barcoded stamps, simply fill out the form, include your stamps and send them both free of charge to ‘Freepost Swap Out’ – no other address details are needed. There is a different address if you have more than £200 worth of stamps:

Royal Mail
Swap Out
Tallents House
21 South Gyle Crescent
EDINBURGH
EH12 9PB

If you don’t have access to a printer, you can request a Stamp Swap Out form to be posted to you by completing this form online. The instructions for sending back to the Royal Mail will depend on the form you request.

The initial deadline for non-barcoded stamps was January 31. The move is part of a bid by Royal Mail to drive to modernise the posting process and introduce added security features.

Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – sign up to our daily newsletter here.