Royal Mail Surveys rewarded with Stamps.

3010

hilda1 wrote: »

I have been doing the survey for a while.

I have today received a packet as part of the survey. However, the postage stamps haven't been stamped with a post mark (hope this makes sense). Instead it appears as though someone has used a pen and written a 'X' on one stamp, a number on another stamp and a different number on the last stamp. Does anyone know whether I can re-use these stamps or are they now been made redundant with these pen marks ?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

As they have been written on I'd say they have been made unusable. I might be wrong but that might be the post mans or round number that have been written on them.

3010

GetRealBabe wrote: »

Hi

Anyone else not received next weeks posting pack?

I have had one arrive in the same week that the stuff was meant to go. However the stuff inside did not have to go until the end of the week. If it does not arrive by the time you need to send the stuff give them a call and tell them.

GetRealBabe

3010 wrote: »

I have had one arrive in the same week that the stuff was meant to go. However the stuff inside did not have to go until the end of the week. If it does not arrive by the time you need to send the stuff give them a call and tell them.

Hi

Already sent two emails.

elsien

hilda1 wrote: »

I have been doing the survey for a while.

I have today received a packet as part of the survey. However, the postage stamps haven't been stamped with a post mark (hope this makes sense). Instead it appears as though someone has used a pen and written a 'X' on one stamp, a number on another stamp and a different number on the last stamp. Does anyone know whether I can re-use these stamps or are they now been made redundant with these pen marks ?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Having been given a serious telling off by the man in the post office for reusing unpostmarked stamps - the background envelope colour where I'd cut round them was different, so easier to spot - he said I risked either having the parcel returned or the recipient surcharged. So if they've marked them in some way, I'd probably not take the chance.

Edit - just wondering if anyone else does reuse, how you do so unnoticeably? I've tried steaming them off but it didn't work. I've got some stamps I bought, stuck on the envelope then didn't need to post and it seems a shame to waste them. I cut round them because I didn't think there'd be a problem with sticking them on another envelope, but clearlly there is.

hilda1

elsien wrote: »

just wondering if anyone else does reuse, how you do so unnoticeably?

Cut the stamp off the envelope with a few millimetres of the envelope around the stamp, submerge the stamp with the bit of the envelope around the stamp into warm water (Just run your hot water tap until you get it up to it's warmest temperature and then fill a cereal bowl with the water), wait 30mins and then the stamp should peel off the envelope without any probs. Make sure the stamp&envelope are submerged in the water. Sometimes they will float up to the surface so just push them down until they stop floating up or just place a spoon on top of the stamp/envelope to keep it submerged.

Works everytime.

hilda1

Just had a thought. I will email Royal Mail (using a dummy email account) and ask them whether the stamps can be used.

heather66

it is actually illegal to reuse stamps that have aready been through the postal system .. our postman scores through them as well if he notices tthat they havent got a poststamp/ mark on them

that is partly the reason royal mail brought in the sticky stanps which are supposed to come apart when you remove them from an envelope to re-use them

hilda1

heather66 wrote: »

that is partly the reason royal mail brought in the sticky stanps which are supposed to come apart when you remove them from an envelope to re-use them

Doesn't work if you use the warm water method as advised in a previous post.

StumpyPumpy

heather66 wrote: »

it is actually illegal to reuse stamps that have aready been through the postal system .. our postman scores through them as well if he notices tthat they havent got a poststamp/ mark on them

that is partly the reason royal mail brought in the sticky stanps which are supposed to come apart when you remove them from an envelope to re-use them

Interestingly enough, the Post Office Investigation Branch (a dedicated department set up to catch people committing this sort of postal fraud) has run several sting operations where stamps have been "invisibly" franked with non-washable UV inks and delivery addresses noted. Obviously targeted at the large scale organisations doing it, but they have caught out "small-time crooks" who do it too.

hilda1

StumpyPumpy wrote: »

stamps have been "invisibly" franked with non-washable UV inks and delivery addresses noted. Obviously targeted at the large scale organisations doing it, but they have caught out "small-time crooks" who do it too.

I don't think so !:)

Have a look at this http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/b01g4dnh

and fast forward to around 9mins 45secs, where you will hear that Royal Mail don't "invisibly" frank stamps !


QED :beer:.