Royal Mail stamps to be barcoded

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I have a few books of first class stamps sitting in a drawer and use about 35 a year, mostly at Christmas time. Until now, the deal has been that these old stamps can be used even if the price of postage goes up.
Unfortunately there is now a new scheme. All stamps will be barcoded, and the old style stamps will be useless after 31 January 2023.
It will be possible to swap the old stamps for new ones from 31March 2022. Forms will be available from various places, including "Customer Service Points". I assume that means post offices.

Royal Mail link https://www.royalmail.com/sending/b...ly5yUnSpqMkb3iLyuK8aAqsYEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

The site says:-

"Transition to Barcoded Stamps​

Non-barcoded stamps will be phased out but will remain usable until 31 January 2023. Customers are encouraged to use their non-barcoded stamps before this date. Alternatively, non-barcoded stamps can be exchanged for the new barcoded version through Royal Mail’s ‘Swap Out’ scheme.
The ‘Swap Out’ scheme will open on 31 March 2022. Forms will be available via a variety of channels, including local Customer Service Points; the Royal Mail website and via our Customer Experience team. Customers will be able to use a Freepost address. Further details will be announced shortly.
You can buy the new barcoded stamps on our Shop."

Bah humbug.

 

[Turret_Monster]

I notice they omit to say 'why' in their explantion.

Maybe Mike Leigh's character Johnny (played by David Thewlis in Naked) was right about barcodes all those years ago...

"What is the mark? Well, the mark, Brian, is the barcode. The ubiquitous barcode that you’ll find on every bogroll, on every packet of Jonny’s and every poxie pot pie, and every ******* barcode is divided into two parts by three markers, and those three markers are always represented by the number 6. 6-6-6! Now what does it say? “No one shall be able to buy or sell without that mark!” And now what they’re planning to do in order to eradicate all credit card fraud and in order precipitate a totally cashless society, what they’re planning to do, what they’ve already tested on the American troops, they’re going to subcutaneously laser tattoo on your right hand or on your forehead, they’re going to replace plastic with flesh: FACT! In the same book of Revelations when the Seven seals have broken open on the Day of Judgment, and the seven angels blow their trumpets, when the third angel blows her bugle, “Wormwood will fall from the sky,” wormwood will poison a third part of all the waters and a third part of all the land and many, many, many people will die. Now do you know what the Russian translation for Wormwood is? Chernobyl: FACT!"

 

[Andy Farman]

I have a few books of first classs stamps sitting in a drawer and use about 35 a year, mostly at Christmas time. Until now, the deal has been that these old stamps can be used even if the price of postage goes up.
Unfortunately there is now a new scheme. All stamps will be barcoded, and the old style stamps will be useless after 31 January 2023.
It will be possible to swap the old stamps for new ones from 31March 2022. Forms will be available from various places, including "Customer Service Points". I assume that means post offices.

Royal Mail link https://www.royalmail.com/sending/b...ly5yUnSpqMkb3iLyuK8aAqsYEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

The site says:-

"Transition to Barcoded Stamps​

Non-barcoded stamps will be phased out but will remain usable until 31 January 2023. Customers are encouraged to use their non-barcoded stamps before this date. Alternatively, non-barcoded stamps can be exchanged for the new barcoded version through Royal Mail’s ‘Swap Out’ scheme.
The ‘Swap Out’ scheme will open on 31 March 2022. Forms will be available via a variety of channels, including local Customer Service Points; the Royal Mail website and via our Customer Experience team. Customers will be able to use a Freepost address. Further details will be announced shortly.
You can buy the new barcoded stamps on our Shop."

Bah humbug.

Did they check if the rest of the planet has them in sorting offices?

 

[br9mp812]

So they are trying to change the stamps before xmas this year, so you end up paying more?
I would say, save this years cards you get send, and put them out again for years to come saving F&F a small fortune, utter robbing *****

 

[CharleyBourne]

20 plus years ago I worked for a publishing firm. They decided to run some sort of promotion/competition where people had to send in a postcard with the required info on the back.

Being a high-flyer I was put in charge of collecting the postcards each day and adding the sender's details to a spreadsheet so that they were entered into the draw or whatever it was.

There were usually upwards of 100 postcards a day coming in, and I noticed that the highly efficient Royal Mail or I think Consignia at the time (fcuking top idea that wasn't it) had neglected to frank about 5% of the stamps attached. I soon became an expert at removing stamps even those with the dastardly perforated sections in the middle and ended up with about £200 of stamps.

I'm fully aware that it is an offence to reuse a stamp even if it is unfranked (although prove that that I hadn't just taken it off an incorrectly addressed envelope before sending it) and would never dream of doing such a thing, Guv.