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Daily Record
Daily Record
Lifestyle
Gemma Jones & Jacob Rawley

Martin Lewis' MSE issues five-day warning to stock up on 68p item

Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert has urged people to stock up on stamps before a price hike on April 3.

Right now you can pick up first class stamps for 95p and second class stamps for 68p. However, as of next week these rates will rise to £1.10 and 75p respectively.

The money-saving aces urge consumers to 'beat the hike' by acting quickly - and warned of an easy-to-make mistake when picking up stamps, writes the Echo.

Martin's Money Saving Expert website said: "This means you have until Sunday 2 April to stock up on first or second-class stamps to secure them at their current price to beat the hike.

"Just ensure you're given new barcoded stamps rather than old-style versions without a barcode."

Martin Lewis founded Money Saving Expert, a free website sharing financial tips (ITV)

Royal Mail has said that the reason for the upcoming price surge is because of "careful consideration" of different factors.

Some of these include overall rising costs, a 25 percent drop in letter-sending in the aftermath of the pandemic, and an "ever-growing" number of addresses.

And while the price-increase deadline is fast approaching, that isn't the only major change for stamps this year.

First and second-class stamps are set to rise in price from April 3 (Getty Images)

It is worth getting stamps sooner rather than later, as from July 31, stamps without a barcode which you may have at home will be rendered unusable.

The Royal Mail states: "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."

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