Rejected petition Prevent Royal Mail from making postage stamps without a barcode invalid

Royal Mail is moving to a new barcode system for stamps which existing and older stamps don't have. '1st' and '2nd' class stamps with the Queen's head, Christmas themed stamps, and stamps of any other value with the Queen's head, will no longer be valid to use on letters or packages by 31 Jan 2023.

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UK stamps traditionally have no expiry date meaning they can be used irrespective of the length of time they have been kept. This should continue. When I last purchased stamps no expiry date was advertised. From 31 Jan 2023 stamps without a barcode will not be valid and Royal Mail customers will have to pay a surcharge if they are used. This could cause confusion and inconvenience for elderly people who may have a stock of older stamps. The need for a barcode to be added to stamps is unclear.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.

We can only accept petitions about things the Government or Parliament are directly responsible for.

Decisions about postage stamps are a matter for the Royal Mail, not the UK Government or Parliament.

Royal Mail has said that non-barcoded stamps can be exchanged for the new barcoded version through Royal Mail’s ‘Swap Out’ scheme. Find out more here: https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 10 February 2022
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