Universal Mail UK - International Postcard Stamps usage

From time to time I get asked about these stamps, which are widely sold from tourist attractions, and often exclusive to them.  I suspect that is largely because my original webpage on the story of these still features at or near the top of search engine listings. 

UniversalMail UK Ltd was established in 2006 following deregulation of the UK postal industry. 

While most of Royal Mail's competitors have concentrated on the high-volume mass-mail and business market, leaving Royal Mail to do the final sorting and delivery, UniversalMail UK has an access agreement with Royal Mail which enables any postcard or envelope(*) bearing a UniversalMail UK postage stamp to be posted to any detination outside the UK through the extensive network of Royal Mail post boxes, located throughout the country. 

All UniversalMail UK postage stamps are also accepted over the counter at Royal Mail Post Office branches. UniversalMail UK’s clients include tourist operators, regional tourist offices (information centres), hotels, general retailers and souvenir shops.

The first stamps were self-adhesive, produced in October 2008.

Although they originally provided stamps for 20g letters this was a short-lived facility and now only stamps for postcards are sold.  Nonetheless, they are all only for international addresses.

Some people who write about these complain to me, despite the clear statement that we are not involved in the UMUK service at all.  The latest, just before Christmas, was to a UK resident "sent by a friend from New Zealand staying in London at the time". 

Christmas card stamped with Universal Mail UK International Postcard stamp, rightly surcharged as being unpaid.

If anybody has any examples of these properly or improperly used I'll be pleased to add them.

I tested the system in the early days and some were improperly processed through the Royal Mail international system and passed to the postal authority in the destination country.  I'll add examples later.

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Odd-looking postal rates are likely to be right!

Most people can recognise an obviously philatelic cover, with excess postage or out-of-period (albeit valid) usage.  The logical conclusion of this is that most people can also recognise a cover which is properly stamped at a proper rate using stamps available at the time.

Sometimes, however, you find a cover with a postage rate that almost has to be right, because nobody would make it that wrong!

Here are three pieces which I picked up at London's Spring Stampex.  The first is a surface-mail picture postcard from Newquay, Cornwall, to South Carolina on 13 September 1968.  Stamped with a 5d blue Machin definitive (SG 735) it doesn't look odd, because we are used to seeing so many inland letters and cards with this stamp from 1968-71.  But that rate took effect later, from 16 September.

The 5d rate for surface postcards worldwide ran from 3.10.1966 to decimal day (15.2.71).  The Machin stamp was issued on 1.7.1968.  So although the 5d Machin on a postcard in this period is not unusual, it is interesting to see it used before it served the same purpose on inland mail.

The second is a small (125 x 80 mm) unsealed envelope containing a card.  This was sent from Romford, Essex, to South Carolina on 8 November 1983 with 14½p postage paid by a 12½p and 2p Machin definitives.  An unusual rate, but by the unusual combination of stamps, I deduced that it was probably 'right'.  And so it proved.  This is the first step (20 g) Printed Paper Rate for letters worldwide.

Lastly, an airmail letter from Carmarthen to South Carolina on 7 February 1979, prepaid at 18½p.  Now I was used to seeing 10½p, 11½p, 13½p, 19½p and 20½p stamps on postcards - and there are stamps for all of these rates, but not for 18½p - so is it correct?  Again, the answer is yes.   This is the second-step 20 g rate for Zone 2 letters (the first step was 11p).  So although the 13p dog stamp is used on its day of issue, the addition of the 5p and ½p stamps to make up the 18½p rate is perfectly right.

So although it happens to be a first day cover - and indeed it may have been used deliberately on the day of issue - it's a perfectly correct non-philatelic cover.

I think if you went to a dozen dealers looking for these last two, you probably wouldn't find anything at those rates, even with other stamps to make up the rates.

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