Last night, The Mail on Sunday endorsed the request for a postponement of the ban on the use of outdated postage stamps from outraged MPs, watchdogs, consumers, and even post shop owners.
Few people are aware of the change, which would prevent stamps without the new barcode from functioning after January 31.
It’s estimated that there are up to 100 million old stamps stashed away in wallets and drawers.
To make things worse, customers are unable to exchange them for fresh ones at the post office as they may when coins and notes cease to be legal currency.
Instead, they must complete and submit a challenging form that must be downloaded rather than picked up at the post office.
Then, fresh barcode stamps are delivered to them.
The all-party philately group in Westminster’s vice-chairman, Tory MP Alexander Stafford, said: “This frantic push to eliminate conventional stamps is both ludicrous and wrong.”
“Royal Mail need to make it as simple as possible for consumers to swap stamps in a timely manner.”
The all-party philately group in Westminster’s vice-chairman, Tory MP Alexander Stafford, said: “This hasty move to outlaw conventional stamps is both ludicrous and unjustifiable.”
“It should be postponed for a year and replaced with more rational plans.”
The complicated procedure, which requires individuals to download a form and mail it in rather than exchanging their used stamps at the post office, is obviously intended to discourage people from bothering.
When so many individuals would have conventional stamps that they paid for but were afterwards unable to use, that is unconscionable.
Age UK representative Caroline Abrahams said: “With so much going on, it is possible to have missed the news about this change. I hope Royal Mail will step up their efforts to disseminate information about it.”
Vice-chairman of the all-party post offices group and Labour MP Kevan Jones, a former minister, said: “The individuals in charge of this stamps catastrophe must see reason and postpone the switch for a year.”
Because many individuals mistakenly believe that the Royal Mail and Post Office are one and the same, there is some misunderstanding. They broke up in 2001.
Special pictorial stamps, such as Christmas stamps, are exempt from the restriction on used stamps.
Both customers and employees expressed their dissatisfaction. The system is laughably inhospitable to the elderly and anybody who has trouble using the internet, according to Peter Burnett, proprietor of Ferndown Post Office in Bournemouth. We get at least 20 requests every day to trade stamps.
A cynic would speculate that the swap’s hasty implementation is an effort to increase Royal Mail’s income by making many in use stamps worthless.
“Most of us would accept a reasonable arrangement if post offices were used to exchange stamps and were paid for the service by Royal Mail.”
Long waits await those who have already mailed their stamps. On October 11, Tim Herlihy sent 55 stamps after being informed it would take seven days. He still doesn’t have any successors. The 58-year-old landlord from West London inquired about the wait time at his local post office, where he was informed that it had increased to four weeks. I was surprised that they couldn’t simply do it at the post office, he remarked.
Stamp Collector magazine’s editor, Matt Hill, stated: “Comments, inquiries, and concerns over the plan have poured in.” This sum of money is enormous for a lot of individuals. Since postage stamps are considered legal currency, some people worry that the exchange process is overly cumbersome.
According to Royal Mail, it has sent pamphlets to 31 million households and run advertisements in publications, on the radio, and on social media. According to the corporation, post offices are not able to examine stamps to make sure they are authentic.
The company will be able to monitor and trace every piece of mail and reduce lost products thanks to the new barcode.
‘Stamps are a Royal Mail product, and Royal Mail is responsible for exchanging non-barcoded stamps sold at post offices and other locations,’ a Post Office spokeswoman said.
The decision by Royal Mail, which generated £758 million in revenue last year, comes as staff members have 16 days of scheduled strikes in the lead-up to Christmas, endangering delivery.