Do banks have to accept change?

2

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  • olly300
    olly300 Posts: 14,736
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    It's mainly Halifax, Alliance and Leicester and the other ex-building societies who won't accept bagged coin, and Nationwide apparently won't accept random odd pieces of coin. Lesson to be learned: If you want a bank, use a real one. ;)

    The Nationwide is a building society not a bank and don't pretend to be one.
    I'm not cynical I'm realistic :p

    (If a link I give opens pop ups I won't know I don't use windows)
  • rb10
    rb10 Posts: 6,334 Forumite
    It's mainly Halifax, Alliance and Leicester and the other ex-building societies who won't accept bagged coin

    Halifax definitely do accept bagged coin.
  • withnell
    withnell Posts: 1,629 Forumite
    olly300 wrote: »
    The Nationwide is a building society not a bank and don't pretend to be one.

    They just act like one when rewarding the executives....
  • willo65
    willo65 Posts: 1,012 Forumite
    rb10 wrote: »
    Halifax definitely do accept bagged coin.

    But how much will they accept?
  • Comyface
    Comyface Posts: 669
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    willo65 wrote: »
    But how much will they accept?

    It's 5 bags at a time, unless it's going into a charity or a child's account.
    Are the words 'I have a cunning plan' marching with ill-deserved confidence in the direction of this conversation? :cool:
  • 7sefton
    7sefton Posts: 606
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    I'm always amazed how many time this 'paying in coins' question comes up on these boards. Hope this helps:

    Traditional clearing banks (namely Lloyds TSB, Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, RBS) will generally accept an unlimited amount of coinage, as long as it is bagged correctly. It helps if you go at a quiet time of day, or even call the branch to arrange a time to pay in a considerable amount of bags.

    Current and ex building societies (Halifax, Northern Rock, A&L, Nationwide, Britannia, Yorkshire, Abbey, B&B, etc.) will only accept a max of 5 bags per day, which must be bagged correctly. The exceptions are for childrens and charity accounts. Sometimes the rule is 5 bags per day per account, or per customer. Just ring up and ask!

    And a growing number of banks (most commonly HSBC, but also NatWest and Barclays) have coin-counting machines in their bigger, flagship branches. You must have an account with the bank but they are free to use and you can pay ANY amount of coinage in, in ANY combination. The money is deposited directly to your account.

    Or you can use the CoinStar machines in supermarkets, which convert your coinage to cash or shopping vouchers instantly but take a fee of around 7%.

    Things I am unsure about:

    - Post Office coin-acceptance policy
    - Bank of Scotland's policy (it is a clearing bank, but is obviously connected to Halifax which has the 5 bag rule)
    - Positions of Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks
  • benjus
    benjus Posts: 5,433
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    Just been having a discussion with my partner, i needed to pay some money into my account so buy something of the internet with my card, and i emptied the change in my pocket and a few jars and the bank refused to accept the change, and he said by law they have to accept it whether its baged up in pounds or not, so just wondering is this true?

    Thanks alot.

    I wonder if your partner is getting confused with the definition of "legal tender". Anything that is legal tender must be accepted by law in payment of a debt (strictly speaking, the recipient cannot sue for non-payment if a settlement is offered in legal tender). However, there are two reasons why this doesn't apply in your situation:

    1. You're paying money into your account (effectively lending the bank money), not settling a debt.
    2. The definition of "legal tender" for coins varies with the denomination of the coin - for example, 1p coins are only legal tender up to a value of 20p, so if you offered 10000 1p coins in payment of a £100 debt, the other party could legitimately refuse the offer.
    Let's settle this like gentlemen: armed with heavy sticks
    On a rotating plate, with spikes like Flash Gordon
    And you're Peter Duncan; I gave you fair warning
  • dzug1
    dzug1 Posts: 13,535
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    7sefton wrote: »
    - Post Office coin-acceptance policy


    I think the policy (which individual branches may not always adhere to) is that coins are accepted in payment for stamps/services/bills, etc, or payment into an account, in any amount. You can still get sent away with a flea in your ear if it's not properly bagged and if it reaches the stage where it overflows their safe it can be refused. (At a small office this could in reality mean not that much can be taken)

    They will change bags of coins for notes if they have a need for the coins - again officially. Individual branches may be more flexible, particularly if they know you.
  • Extant
    Extant Posts: 2,140 Forumite
    benjus wrote: »
    2. The definition of "legal tender" for coins varies with the denomination of the coin - for example, 1p coins are only legal tender up to a value of 20p, so if you offered 10000 1p coins in payment of a £100 debt, the other party could legitimately refuse the offer.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/5239962.stm

    How dumb.
    What would William Shatner do?
  • ShelfStacker_3
    ShelfStacker_3 Posts: 2,180 Forumite

    "There is no such thing as the Coinage Act. It is legal tender, it belongs to the Queen."

    Well, there we have it. All our money belongs to the Queen. I never knew.
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