Fake Banknote? Help please

gibboking

Hi Guys.

Basically hubby put £10 of petrol in his van this am, paid with a £20 note. The cashier decided it was fake and told him she was witholding it!! He argued with her a bit and she said it felt'funny'. She then asked another customer who had a asda uniform on what asdas policy was in regard to fake notes!!! He then had to leave his colleague stood in the pertol station come home and get more money. So £10 of petrol has now cost £30! She didnt take his details and just said he would have to keep coming in until a manager is available!!

The note appeared to be well used to me as though it had been in circulation for a while.

He is going back down in about an hour so any advice before he goes there would be greatly appreciated.

McKneff

If its a fake, he's lost it I'm afraid.
They are not allowed to give it back to him.

I hope its not.

kalaika

If it is actually a fake then the assistant is correct to withhold it and your husband should be more vigilant when given 'old' looking notes.

If it's not a fake, but just well worn then he'll have to just argue his case with the manager. It'll help if he knows exactly what is present on a real note to point out. If he's not sure what makes it real then get him to have a read of this before he goes.

Esqui

She should have taken his details in case it later turned out to be real. But she is absolutely right to confiscate the note.

davetrousers

The note real or fake is your property. The shop cannot confiscate it.

That's what I was told anyway.

gibboking

Thanks for all of your help guys.

I rang the Bank of England and was told yes they are right to confiscate if they suspect it to be fake after checking all security features (she didnt).
She should of issued him with a receipt and taken all of his details, state the reason why she thinks it is fake, then it should be passed onto the bank who will investigate and destroy the note. They will reimburse if it was real and your loss if fake.
She didnt do any of the above so he is going to go down there and get it done properly.

McKneff

Let us know how he gets on won't you.

mustrum_ridcully

davetrousers wrote: »

The note real or fake is your property. The shop cannot confiscate it.

That's what I was told anyway.

Who ever told you that is wrong.

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/faqs.htm#7

What should I do if I think I have been given a counterfeit note?

If you think a note that you have is a counterfeit you must take it to the police as soon as you can. They will provide you with a receipt and send the counterfeit to the Bank of England for analysis. If the note is genuine reimbursement will be made in full.
A counterfeit note is completely worthless and it is a criminal offence to hold or to pass on a note which you know to be counterfeit.
Don’t get caught out by the counterfeiter; always check your banknotes.

Therefore the instant a shop assistant has a fake and is aware of that they aren't allowed to hand it back to the customer as they'd be breaking the law...

Mark_Hewitt

But as ever a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. She knew enough to withhold the note, but not enough to give the OP a receipt for it or advise on procedure thereafter.

PS What's the betting ASDA would slap on a £20 admin charge for sending it to the BoE?!

pendulum

If this was my note I would have insisted on it back. Why should I trust the assistant that it's a fake? She has a vested interest in saying it is, because if she was dishonest there's nothing stopping her swapping it for a real fake or pocketing it if I was to surrender it there and then.

She's acted improperly and I would kick up a right fuss, she didn't get your details as she was supposed to, didn't check all the security features as you say, and appears to have seized the note just because it "feels funny".

My dad's a banknote dealer of 30 years and we have seen countless fakes, and it's fair to say also a couple of notes that do "feel wrong" but are actually genuine, having probably been washed in something strange by accident or similar. The cashier is no expert, so unless she was 100% sure, showed you why she was certain and you agreed, then she should have given it back.

She should at least have written the number of the note down for you so that the note could be ID'd later (but you should also have asked when she didn't volunteer to do this). Now she could send any note off, maybe one of her own fake ones. If you think it's a scam, report it to the police, if you're sure the note you handed in was genuine.

davetrousers

mustrum_ridcully wrote: »

Who ever told you that is wrong.

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/faqs.htm#7
Therefore the instant a shop assistant has a fake and is aware of that they aren't allowed to hand it back to the customer as they'd be breaking the law...

Well it doesn't really say that does it (donning my pedantic hat)?

I wonder if there is a documented and publicly available procedure for shops.

What should I do if I think I have been given a counterfeit note?
If you think a note that you have is a counterfeit you must take it to the police as soon as you can.

The OP didn't know (or think) that they had a fake note. Nor does this say that a shop worker may confiscate.

My query is how can somebody in a shop confiscate your belongings simply because that in their opinion it is counterfeit?