Steaming ‘free’ stamps can be costly

WELL- WISHERS tempted to reuse unfranked stamps steamed from envelopes are being warned they might land the recipients of t heir l ast- minute Christmas cards with an expensive bill.

Many households ‘ recycle’ stamps that arrive in pristine condition, steaming them off or cutting them out, especially on the l ast posting date before Christmas, which is tomorrow.

But Royal Mail says: ‘If a letter is found to be carrying a fake or used (washed) stamp, the recipient will be asked to pay the postage plus a surcharge to cover administrative costs.’

It is unclear how it polices this. It has said in the past that there is no invisible franking mark on stamps. But now it says it has ‘a range of processes in place to identify uncancelled stamps that have been reused’.

The price of a first class stamp has risen from 28p in 2004 to 76p. From next month, an inflationbusting increase will push up the price to 85p.

It will pay regular postal service users to buy stamps now ahead of the rise.