My 250pound stamps are lost in the post

[simmo11]

https://archive.ph/BHR2o

In early October I completed a form requesting to swap out some old stamps for new ones with the barcodes on. I put 91 regular first-class stamps, 113 large first-class stamps and the form in an envelope addressed to Freepost Swap Out, as instructed by Royal Mail. The form stated that I would get new stamps in about seven days, but I am yet to receive any. I have written to Royal Mail with no response.

If Royal Mail does not answer, I will lose the stamps and seemingly have no recourse, despite carrying out the instructions. Please can you help me.

Imogen Tew replies

Stamps without a barcode will no longer be valid from July 31 next year. If you stick them on your letters then the recipient will have to pay a surcharge. The deadline was originally January, but Royal Mail extended it to give people more time to use up their old stamps. A first class stamp now costs 95p and a large first class stamp is £1.45.

If you don’t think that you will use them up before the deadline, you can exchange your old stamps (the “everyday” stamps featuring only the profile of Queen Elizabeth II) for new, barcoded stamps. Special stamps or Christmas stamps will still be usable so you don’t need to swap them.

You can’t do this at the Post Office because staff cannot verify them in-store. Instead, you will need to fill out a form and post them to Royal Mail, which says it will exchange your stamps for new ones within seven days.

This was not the reader’s experience, however — or the experience of many others. Royal Mail also mistakenly wrote to 3,000 customers telling them that it had not received the stamps with their swap out form, even though it had.
It has since written to customers to apologise and sent replacement stamps to all those affected.

Royal Mail thanked our reader for his patience. “We aim to process all swap out requests as quickly as we are able and our barcoded stamp processing operation has been designed to scale up in line with demand. We recently more than trebled the number of colleagues working on processing applications.”
Our reader had a “very nice apology letter”, which he said explained that there had been a huge response from people wanting to swap stamps. It reassured him that his new ones would arrive shortly, which they did.

To exchange your old stamps, you need to send them to Royal Mail with a standard swap out form if the stamps are worth up to £200, or a bulk stamp swap out form if they are worth more.
You can download and print the standard form from royalmail.com or pick one up from the Post Office. You can also ring Royal Mail on 03457 740740 and ask for the form to be posted to you for free. Bulk stamp forms can be downloaded or requested online or you can call the number above.

[koolishy67]

I think above £100 you have to use special delivery to send your stampe they will refund you special delivery cost if you just send by normal free post good luck than

[TopperGas]

It's actually a £200 limit, although I certainly wouldn't send anything over a value of £25 without having some way to track it's arrived at it''s destination.