Do you bulk buy your first and second-class Royal Mail stamps? Some may only buy the odd one or two from the Post Office or local shop as and when they need them.

Royal Mail stamps currently start from £1.35 for a first-class letter and £3.99 for a first-class parcel.

But have you ever wondered if you can reuse a stamp in the UK when you need to send off any post in a hurry and don’t have one to hand?

These are the important rules you need to know about and mustn’t ignore.

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You may not know that it is a crime to “knowingly use counterfeit or re-used stamps to avoid paying Royal Mail the full amount required for the Postal Service received”, according to the Royal Mail website.

It adds: “Anyone who does so may potentially face criminal prosecution or Royal Mail may even take civil action to recover the money owed to us.”

Royal Mail has also outlined the following rules:

  • Any person who knowingly reuses or sells you stamps for postage, whether they have had cancellation marks on the envelope removed or not, is committing fraud.

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  • Any person who knowingly possesses, distributes, sells or uses counterfeit stamps as a means of postage is committing fraud and/or an offence of counterfeiting.

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  • Any person importing, distributing, selling or otherwise assisting in the sale of counterfeit stamps is committing offences of fraud and/or counterfeiting.

“It is no protection for sellers of fake stamps to include disclaimers such as ‘not for re use’ when selling used or counterfeit stamps,” concludes Royal Mail.

“These sellers are deemed as to be committing fraud and/or counterfeiting if their intention is to distribute or sell fake stamps for the means of postage."