What happened to all my post I sent over the past year using old stamps?

[osullic]

I just dropped a postcard off at my local post office counter (in the process of doing other business) and the agent made a remark that I was using a "very old stamp" which was no longer valid. I dismissed his comment, telling him that stamps don't expire. So he doubled down and refused to accept the card and told me to just drop it in the postbox outside instead.

I did a quick online search and of course it turns out that he was right and I was wrong! How could I have never heard of this stamp expiration event? I can now find many online newspaper articles talking about it, but around 2022/2023 when this was all happening, I never once came across any mention of this. I'm often in the post office too, and never noticed any signage about it there either. I would also have expected that as a past customer of Royal Mail's online stamp shop, they might have emailed a courtesy notice to customers about this.

The thing is... now I'm wondering if any of the letters/cards I've posted over the past 12 months have even been delivered! Maybe my friends and family have had to pay for the postage on the receiving end and nobody has been impolite enough to let me know! Or worst case scenario, maybe my post has been dumped in a bin somewhere - naturally, I can't remember everything I posted over the last 12 months.

What happens nowadays if a letter or card gets popped in the post with one of these old stamps? I now know that the official deadline was July last year, but I'm somehow hoping that Royal Mail have been kind enough to just let these old stamps through without too much fuss. Is it possible?

[BenacreNick]

No. There was quite a long grace period for customers, but this ended about 6 months ago (someone please check).

31st July - I just checked (the informationwas everywhereto be fair).


If spotted with checks, I would have thought a grey card would be issued to the recipient, in advance of the item being authorised for delivery.

"From 1 August, any item with an "old-style" stamp will be treated as having insufficient postage and liable for a £1.10 charge.

The changes affect any non-barcoded stamps featuring the late Queen's profile on a plain background".

[yellowbelly]

....................

What happens nowadays if a letter or card gets popped in the post with one of these old stamps? I now know that the official deadline was July last year, but I'm somehow hoping that Royal Mail have been kind enough to just let these old stamps through without too much fuss. Is it possible?

'Royal Mail' and 'kind' are two words I wouldn't expect in the same sentence.

However, last year around the deadline a lot of the 'old' stamps did get through without getting surcharged. It seems since this New Year just gone the revenue people have been clamping down really hard on 'old' stamps, insufficient postage and unfranked letters. Still the odd one or two get through though.

I think what really seems to catch a lot of people out using the 'new' stamps with the barcode is that they are physically large in size so a lot of people mistakenly think they are suitable for a 'large' letter when they are not.

[osullic]

Quick follow-up... I posted my postcard on 8 April, and it was delivered on 17 April (domestic, first-class). The recipient didn't have to pay any additional charge, though there was an ugly orange sticker stuck on the postcard saying that the stamp was no longer valid for postage.