Royal Mail has pushed back its deadline to use up any old stamps before they don't work anymore.
The new stamps, which still feature the Queen's head but have a new barcode attached, were introduced in February last year. The postal company had originally set the date of January 31 for any old stamps to be used, but this has now been extended.
A swap-out scheme has been introduced for anyone who wants to exchange their old stamps for the new ones, which you can do online or via post.
Wales Online reports that the new date to use up any old stamps on your letters before they stop working is now July 31, 2023 - which is a six-month extension on the original date.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We’ve added barcodes to all our regular stamps. Regular stamps without a barcode will no longer be valid after July 31, 2023. This follows the introduction of a six-month grace period from the initial January 31 deadline. You can either use up your non-barcoded stamps before this new deadline or swap them for the new barcoded ones."
If you don't think you'll use up all your old stamps before the deadline, you can exchange them for the new ones.
To do this, you need to fill out a Stamp Swap Out form and send it to Royal Mail along with your old stamps. The process for this depends on how many old stamps you have.
If you've got less than £200 worth, print out this Swap Out form and fill it in. Then, send it back to Royal Mail along with your stamps, by writing on the envelope Freepost SWAP OUT.
If you've got more than £200 worth of old stamps, print and fill out this Swap Out form. Royal Mail recommends sending this and your non-barcoded stamps back to us via a secure service with suitable cover. The address to send to is:
Royal Mail
Swap Out
Tallents House
21 South Gyle Crescent
EDINBURGH
EH12 9PB
And if you don't have a printer, you can request a Stamp Swap Out form to be posted to you by completing this form online.
You can also pick up a 'Swap Out' form from your local Post Office along with a free post envelope – but the Post Office won’t be able to actually swap your stamps for barcoded ones.
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