Royal Mail barcoding stamps - existing stamps valid only until 31 Jan 2023

J63320

Very peeved about this whole process. Just received over 20 1st class new stamps after sending in mostly 2nd and Large old ones. Still have some Christmas 1sts from last year, which shows how few  of these I get through in a year. Now wish I had kept back the 2nds to use at Christmas, but I do like to put Christmas stamps on my cards - silly me for being so sentimental. 

NBLondon

johnb2 said:

18 first, 30 second, 10 first large, 6 second large. So the value matched 64 first, but of course what I wanted is the same distribution I sent in. 64 first small stamps will last me a decade. I am very happy to fight companies that muck me around, and will inconvenience me for years to come.

Then you're right to complain.  
https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalmail.com/files/2022-11/Stamp-Swap-Out-Terms-and-Conditions-Last-updated-7-November-2022.pdf

Para 23 suggests you should get back the same combination but in barcoded form and Para 8.1 describes how to return/reject them.

Good Luck!

NBLondon

geffers88 said:

I have had a problem with swapping stamps using the Freepost Swap-out route. I sent my stamps worth over £50 to the address in a secure envelope. I have just received a letter stating that the stamps were not in the envelope. They were definitley in there so they have been 'lost' or 'removed by persons unknown'. 

You're not the only one...
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6403467/stamp-swap-false-information

geffers88 said:

Why they could not have been swapped in a Post Office I just don't know 

As mentioned above more than once - Royal Mail and the Post Office have been separate companies for over a decade.  RM would have had to pay POCL to run the swapping service

NBLondon

bill888 said:

fwiw, I sent in some books of 1st, 2nd and some very small sheets of unused 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p self adhesive stamps.  I also had to stick two very old stamps to the back of the form.   About 20 quids worth in total.

Just received a letter today from Royal Mail claiming I did not send any stamps with the form.....  and to resubmit form and include the stamps.

I definitely included the self adhesive stamps with the form.  I couldn't get through to them by telephone, so submitted a swap out enquiry web form, quoting what looks like a reference number on the original letter.

Now read the deadline to use the old stamps has been extended to next July 2023.....

The instructions say that booklets/sheets should be sent on their original backing paper.  Reading this, I wonder if it might be safer to stick everything to the form so it can't be lost on the way and always keep a scanned copy of front and back.

Doc_N

Strikes me it’s madness to send any quantity of stamps to that very well known address any other way than Special Delivery. You might as well write ‘Please steal me’ on the envelope.

Still a risk of claims that the envelope was empty, or that the stamps were fake, but not quite as open ended.

johnb2

As Special Delivery is £8, no-one would do that if not promised recompense. I got proof of posting as I didn't trust them (and scanned the form, something they also require for disputes, which I doubt many did). Their T&Cs (which in their 7 Nov form do not apply to me because I entered into a contract with them my submitting my form in October, demand you use Special Delivery at your expense to when rejecting stamps, and if they reject your claim you won't get it back. They also have a dubious strike action clause. All in all, unreasonable contract terns and fertile ground for a Ofcom complaint.

peterbrown2

I submitted a mixed bag of stamps, mainly 2nd class, but I have been sent £93 quid'sworth of First class stamps only. I have no use for First class - I only use Second for Xmas cards. Can I swop?? What can I do? I am angry about this!

trix-a-belle

peterbrown2 said:

I submitted a mixed bag of stamps, mainly 2nd class, but I have been sent £93 quid'sworth of First class stamps only. I have no use for First class - I only use Second for Xmas cards. Can I swop?? What can I do? I am angry about this!

You can look at the post only 5 posts above yours which gives the relevant details with paragraph references which direct you to how to reject them

NBLondon

johnb2 said:

Their T&Cs (which in their 7 Nov form do not apply to me because I entered into a contract with them my submitting my form in October, 

Feel free to link to the previous version of the T&C which were in force on the day you sent the form...    (Clue: that para hasn't changed - it was the same in the July version).

Yes - they require you to use SD to send stamps back to them.  If your claim is valid (and I think it reasonable) they will refund because it is their error.    I think you'll have a better chance by doing that than by threatening to involve Ofcom.

NBLondon

peterbrown2 said:

I submitted a mixed bag of stamps, mainly 2nd class, but I have been sent £93 quid'sworth of First class stamps only. I have no use for First class - I only use Second for Xmas cards. Can I swop?? What can I do? I am angry about this!

Recent posts seem to suggest that the team dealing with this are out of 2nd class for some reason.  The original version of the T&C (March) says that they will use 2nd class to replace the numeric values; the July version changed this to "typically 2nd class".

Take a pragmatic approach.  Did you get the correct total value back?  If no, complain.  If yes, do you have enough 1st Class for your Christmas Cards?  If yes, is it worth the hassle of complaining?  It apparently may be 4 weeks before you get a response.