Posted 10 September 2022

Royal Mail Stamp Swap

Wondering if anybody has used this service where you post in your old and they post out new ones with the barcodes.

Am sort of worried about posting them and if they would be covered if for example they got lost, have had a look at their site and there no mention of how they would deal with this situation.

Am going to send mine off but am going to get a Cert of Posting, was also wondering what the turnaround time is?
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  1. Pandamansays's avatar
    Why are people swapping their stamps - is there a time limit on the old ones?
    Wongy111's avatar
    Yep they expire in February.
  2. Kurando's avatar
    I sent just under £500 worth back to them a few months ago. Paid for the recorded delivery, then input the cost of it onto the form (don't think that's available on the standard swap but is on the bulk swap).

    Took about a week and a half and I got the right amount of stamps back including extra ones for the postage so no issues for me. I sent them a mixture of first and second class standard, first class large and 1, 2, 5 and 10p stamps.
  3. GlasgowGrey's avatar
    I had about £100 of stamps, and I was worried about sending them to a generic Freepost address without any sort of proof. Since I understood the level of compensation to be £20 on standard post (with proof of postage), I bundled mine into five lots of £20. The lady at the post office wasn't sure how to issue a proof of postage because "Freepost Swap Out" obviously isn't a standard address, but she managed to override the system and I got proof of postage for each envelope.

    Three lots of £20 came back to me pretty quickly, but the last two took about a fortnight longer for some reason. The only gripe I had was that they sent me back A4 sheets of stamps, which are a nightmare to store, rather than the books of stamps I sent them.
  4. fern37's avatar
    I sent mine just before 6th October but didn't get a COP or send it recorded delivery. Luckily, the replacements arrived today but the envelope is marked clearly that it is stamp swap so if anyone lives in a shared property and you don't trust your fellow sharers, I suggest you get to the post first!
  5. IAmATeaf's avatar
    Author
    The replacement stamps arrived today so pretty quick given the interspersed strike actions.
    The only bone of contention is I sent in nice neat booklets of stamps and they sent me back bloody pages of stamps. I had the booklets neatly stored in a kitchen cupboard, these damned pages will have to be stored in some sort of folder (edited)
  6. morgie's avatar
    Hi all, how long are people finding this is taking at the moment? I sent mine off almost 3 weeks ago.
    mutley1's avatar
    about 3 weeks for me but it may get longer as the deadline approaches and december comes when RM is very busy.
  7. mutley1's avatar
    Didn't know it had been extended. That is good to hear.
  8. Cakeboy79's avatar
    It was about two weeks for me, on both occasions. I just sent them off, didn't bother too much about getting proof of posting etc. (edited)
    iamtheoneandonly's avatar
    I did and got a reply saying they we're fake so nothing in return. They we're bought off eBay though!
  9. Wongy111's avatar
    Ta for the like finally made me do another two that is five now
    had to send off for another form to do the last lot
  10. S_Sharp's avatar
    Has anyone else had a letter saying the stamps were not included with the form sent to them. They were included and I took a photo of the actual stamps but did not get a cert of posting. They obviously got the form! Feeling gutted. Trying to get through on the phone but 15 mins holding on so far.
    IAmATeaf's avatar
    Author
    Posted out my 2nd set of swaps, I was extremely paranoid about the overall scheme to be honest. The T&Cs for the swap makes no mention of what happens if the stamps are lost.

    Keep us updated on how you get on?

    Were your stamps in books or sheets? My 1st swap was majority of books with a few stray stuck to the back of the sheet. (edited)
  11. Somnus's avatar
    Ironic that you can't trust royal mail with stamps. Really gets on my tits when you're expected to pay extra to delivery companies for insurance to cover against themselves not doing their own job!
  12. Firefly1's avatar
    I sent £40 worth of 1st Large Stamps to them for the swap out....
    They sent me the same number of 1st regular stamps - obviously with their lower value
    samwants2save's avatar
    How did it resolve? (I have a few.. feeling a bit jittery now)
  13. bozo007's avatar
    I sent 21 stamps, a mix of First and Second class. Got the new ones back within 10 days. This was done just over a month ago.
  14. DJDools's avatar
    Would they still "swap out" if you sent £100 worth, say, of stamps via the 'over £200' form and used the recorded delivery option?
  15. IAmATeaf's avatar
    Author
    Well I finally got round to posting my first batch off, just under £200 of 1st and 2nd normal and large letter stamps.

    I went to PO and got a COP and took pics of the form and all the stamps. Will be an interesting 2+ weeks wait given the strike action.
  16. IAmATeaf's avatar
    Author
    Given the success of the swap I'm going to get the 2nd batch sorted out and posted out now
  17. AAARRR's avatar
    Would have been so much easier if we could also swap them at post office, just like how we did with the old bank notes, take it to bank and straight swap .
    charlie12's avatar
    Different companies
  18. IAmATeaf's avatar
    Author
    My 2nd set of replacements arrived today, even got a few quid more back than I had sent
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