Advice re refusal of a £50 note

cagsy

Yesterday I went to the chemist to get my precriptions. There were two items totalling £14.40. I went to pay with a £50 note and the chemist refused to take it, stating that it was 'company policy'. I argued that the £50 note was legal tender and asked to see the policy. He couldn't produce it so I asked to speak to his head office. I told him I was a regular customer and that my name and address were on the prescription nd so were my GPs details. I also told him that I worked in the building three doors down and I showed him my photo ID. I pointed out that if I was going to launder dodgy money I certainly wouldn't use it to purchase something which required me to produce my personal details.

Anyway, he phoned head office and was told that there was no such policy and reluctantly accepted the note. He then made a big show of holding it in the air and looking up at it. I asked him what he was looking for and he didn't answer. He then gave the fifty to one of his assistants and asked her to look at it. She was really embarrassed and told him she had no idea what she was looking for, but he insisted she hold it the air and stare at it. Then he made another assistant do the same. If I wasn't so angry I'd have laughed out loud at this fiasco!

I pointed out that the only person who had acted illicitly was he, because he was refusing legal tender and how dare he try and make me feel like a criminal.

As far as I'm concerned, by accepting my prescription and going through the process of dispensing it, he had entered into a contract with me whereas I was to purchase and pay for the goods, but he was refusing to accept my perfectly legal method of payment.

Anyway, this morning I was still pretty peed off and went back into the chemists and asked for the head office address and his name, which I was given. I plan to write and complain but I need advice on what points I should raise. I don't want to state anything that is incorrect.

Does anyone know where I stand legally on trying to pay with a fifty please?

Do shops have the right to refuse to be paid with a £50 note (in this case he had accepted and began to process my prescription which cost £14.40 so it's not as if I was trying to by a packet of mints)

Thanks in advance.

Sagz_2

http://www.royalmint.com/corporate/policies/legal_tender_guidelines.aspx

'It does not mean that any ordinary transaction has to take place in legal tender or only within the amount denominated by the legislation. Both parties are free to agree to accept any form of payment whether legal tender or otherwise according to their wishes.'

Jakg

Legal Tender = accepted method of payment for the repayment of debt.

Notes aren't actually legal tender (they are simply notes which you can take into a bank and exchange for "real" money, thus why it says "I promise to pay the bearer of...").

Shops only have to take a certain number of each denomination of coins, which again ties them up even more.

A shop can be paid however they like - if they break the contract they only need to put you in the position you were before (medicene-less).

The problem is that £50's are quite rare (much like Scottish notes "down here") and so it's easier to pass a forged note around as people aren't sure what their looking for.

Unfortunately you dont have a leg to stand on.

MrsE_2

Jakg wrote: »

The problem is that £50's are quite rare (much like Scottish notes "down here") and so it's easier to pass a forged note around as people aren't sure what their looking for.

Unfortunately you dont have a leg to stand on.

My DH always gives me at least one if not two fifties in the shoping money.
Some assistants have to call a supervisor (I think its if they are newish) & bless them they are often embarrassed:D

theesel1994

Jakg wrote: »

The problem is that £50's are quite rare (much like Scottish notes "down here") and so it's easier to pass a forged note around as people aren't sure what their looking for.

I was in a pub in Darwen, Lancashire and handed over a Scottish £20 note. The person I handed it to looked a bit unsure if she could accept it and asked her superior. He said as long as it had "Pounds sterling" on it then it would be ok. I can understand their reluctance. I think there are three banks in Scotland that have their own notes. So if there are £5, £10 and £20 notes that's nine different bank notes to look out for. That's before you worry about higher denominations. I think there are even (old) Scottish £1 notes floating about. The £20 note I handed over I hadn't even seen before and I thought myself looked like monopoly money. They seem to change the style of notes too often. I'll be glad when most transactions are done electronically.

pendulum

cagsy wrote: »

Does anyone know where I stand legally on trying to pay with a fifty please?

Nowhere. He can legally refuse the £50. You should be embarrassed to learn this after making such a fuss and incorrectly accusing him of breaking the law.

cagsy

pendulum wrote: »

Nowhere. He can legally refuse the £50. You should be embarrassed to learn this after making such a fuss and incorrectly accusing him of breaking the law.

I'm trying to find out why he can refuse to take my perfectly legitmate money. I'm not in the least embarrassed for trying to pay for my goods and it wasn't me who stood there like an idiot waving money in the air pretending to be a Royal Mint expert.

Thanks you for all the helpful coments posted so far.

Dave101t

if its a private shop he can refuse annything, bar you for any reason or otherwise not serve you on a whim

Helix

MrsE wrote: »

Some assistants have to call a supervisor (I think its if they are newish) & bless them they are often embarrassed:D

It was a requirement when I worked in Sainsburys, not just if you were new. You had to call a supervisor whenever a £50 note was being used.

wuckfit

theesel1994 wrote: »

I was in a pub in Darwen, Lancashire and handed over a Scottish £20 note. The person I handed it to looked a bit unsure if she could accept it and asked her superior. He said as long as it had "Pounds sterling" on it then it would be ok. I can understand their reluctance. I think there are three banks in Scotland that have their own notes. So if there are £5, £10 and £20 notes that's nine different bank notes to look out for. That's before you worry about higher denominations. I think there are even (old) Scottish £1 notes floating about. The £20 note I handed over I hadn't even seen before and I thought myself looked like monopoly money. They seem to change the style of notes too often. I'll be glad when most transactions are done electronically.

You're quite correct. The Royal Bank of Scotland, the Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank all issue their own notes. The RBS £1 are rare now.

As for the £20 looking like monopoly money... I can only conclude that you had a BoS note they do look rather silly.

MrsE_2

cagsy wrote: »

I'm trying to find out why he can refuse to take my perfectly legitmate money. I'm not in the least embarrassed for trying to pay for my goods and it wasn't me who stood there like an idiot waving money in the air pretending to be a Royal Mint expert.

Thanks you for all the helpful coments posted so far.

I would guess because he didn't feel confident enough in his familarity with £50s to identify a real v fake one.