Sent all my Christmas cards using this stamp. My colleague told me yesterday that these stamps are not valid anymore.

My niece received her birthday card earlier this month with the same stamp but Google says they’re invalid.

by scream_schleam

39 comments

  1. They’re not valid but would imagine that they’ll still get processed as you’re “in the window of uncertainty” as I received some post this week with them on.

    If you have a lot of them you can exchange them for the new ones easily via the Royal Mail online.

    Or. Start your stamp collection early. Elbow patches on your jumper are compulsory FYI.

  2. Bizarre to me that the stamps would become invalid. You’d think they’d just start producing new stamps with the new Monarch’s bake but still honour the old stamps anyway, as they’d be used up eventually.

  5. Someone sent me something with one of these. I got a card through the door, had to go to the depot and pay £2.50 charge to get it. Chance you’ve ended up costing everyone on your Christmas list I’m afraid!

  8. Recipients might get a red card saying their post has insufficient postage paid on it and give them the option to pay for it online to get it delivered. At least that’s what happened to me.

  9. I only found out yesterday that the non barcode stamps aren’t accepted. I don’t have to post much, but no idea if any forms or birthday cards haven’t made it to their destinations over the last few months.

  10. My mum recently received a card from royal mail telling her that there’s a letter to collect and has to pay outstanding postage. She was charged £2.50 and it was a standard size card that my cousin put a stamp like this on. They obviously factor in an admin fee.

    So probably won’t be delivered but they will be asked to pay the unpaid postage and can collect it. Maybe let folk know and they can decide if your Xmas card is worth 2.50 and a treck to the sorting office.

  11. I got a Christmas card with a “not valid” stamp and had to pay £2.50 to get it

  12. My partner sent all our cards using the old stamps and 99% were delivered without being stopped. Only 1 got a red card and 2.50 fee

  14. I was handed these at a post office yesterday… so they must still be valid (I hope!)

  15. I did the same… (haven’t used stamps since last Christmas as I normally use Moonpig for birthday cards etc).

    They all reached their recipients without a surcharge… I guess Royal Mail are either embracing the Christmas spirit -or- they’re way too busy to faff around collecting the surcharge!

  16. My dad got the letter I sent him with one of these stamps on it, cost him £2.50 though

  17. Not valid, I got charged £2.50 to collect one from the post office as someone sent me a Christmas card with one!

  19. I sent Christmas cards in December using these stamps. All worked out

  21. I thought I won a competition once but it was card from my grandma who bought the wrong stamp

  22. I have a HMV paper voucher from ~1998 which doesn’t have an expiry date. They confirmed it is still valid.

    Yet stamps bought just a couple of years ago (without expiry dates) are not valid.

  23. Yeah sorry the only valid stamps are the barcode ones that came in last year. The old ones were valid up until Jan 2023.
    We got a message through the door from the postie saying their was a letter held at the sorting office and told if we wanted it we had to pay the fee for incorrect postage.

  24. It was in the bbc breakfast show a couple of weeks ago I think. Only the ones that are from last Christmas are ok apparently. Any stamps used now need to have the barcode on I believe.

  25. life hack, send a letter with the intended address as the return to sender address on the back and your address on the front and dont put postage on. it will get returned to sender, which is the address you wanted it sending to anyway.

  26. they are invalid, however a lot of delivery offices are saying “aw fuck it” and delivering anyway, due to the time of year and the massive backlog.

    ​

    The royal mail subreddit has many threads about this, and some people are getting their post despite being marked as needing extra payment

  27. I hope not because I bought 20 2nd class stamps FROM THE POST OFFICE the other day and they were all like this

  28. My dad forwards on my post by crossing out his address and writing mine. I’d say it always reaches me but I’m aware of the survivorship bias – all I can say is that at least some reach me. Bless him – it’s only really ever generic begging letters from charities or the blood bank.

  29. Well you’ve basically just sent out a lot of £2.50 bills to your loved ones. I had to pay £2.50 after someone sent one of these outdated stamps. Although I do feel if they’ve got the time and effort to send me a grey slip to charge me then they might have well just sent the damn card in the first place

  30. My MIL sent me a sympathy card with one of these and I had to pay £2.50. at least with Christmas cards it’s a bit more cheerful.

  31. I asked our daughter if there was any money in the card she sent.
    No.
    Didn’t need to pay the £2.50.

  32. I work in a Post Office, these stamps are not valid anymore. Non barcoded stamps should have been switched out before April this year and was then extended to July.

    I believe you can still get the form to send off to swap stamps out from the Royal Mail website but we no longer hold them in branch, nor can we swap stamps over the counter.

    All stamps should have a barcode on now. Special picture stamps without a barcode are still valid and barcoded stamps with the Queen on are still valid.

    With how busy Royal Mail is at this time of year they might make it, they might not. They might get held up the other end as not or underpaid.

    Hope this helps.

  33. Not necessarily that bad, will be depending if a jobs worth see them, some posties will let them slide and half wouldn’t even notice.

  34. If you have stamps with the Queen’s head AND a barcode are those good?

  35. Everyone who receives one will get charged. My auntie sent everyone in the family cards with non-barcode stamps, and every last one of us received a £2.50 charge.

  38. Fuck that noise. £2.50 to pay for a card that’s about the same value because I’m assuming it’s not England’s king on it. They can keep it.

  39. Oh no, I’ve sent out a load of wedding invitations and Christmas cards with these kinds of stamps in the last few months! No one’s mentioned having to pay for them, I hope they aren’t all just being polite

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