Are there limits on changing Euro's to Sterling?

dandy-candy

My mum has taken 2-3 holidays in Europe every year for the last 10 years and each time she was taking about £800 in spending money. The last few years she's been getting a bit dotty and hiding her leftover money and forgetting where she put it, also a couple of times she has changed her money into Euros then forgot she did it and changed a load more
Mum is ill now and can't be travel, so my sister and I helped her tidy up the whole house and found loads of her "hidey-holes". She has 6K in Euros!! Can she go into a bank and change up such a large amount in one go? Also she has a few 500 Euro notes and my sis said she thought they weren't legal tender anymore - can they still be changed in Sterling?

Spursman180

No problem with changing any amount, I would avoid the banks as you won't get the best rates. Check out the travel money maximiser and give them a ring to make sure they have enough cash on hand to exchange. taking I.D. would be useful.

500 euro notes are legal tender although you can't buy them over the counter, they are the note of choice for illegal transactions ie laundering, drugs etc. It is reckoned that 90% of such notes in this country are in the hands of criminals, 25% of all such notes are in Spain.

If as you say she has accumulated them over the years then she will show a nice profit with todays exchange rates.

[Deleted User]

Here's some interesting physical facts about the 500 euro note: It only weighs 1.1 gram, making 1 million euros weigh only 2.2 kilos! (2000x1.1gram)
A 500 euro note measures 160x82x0.12mm making 1 million euros only the size of a brick. (160x82x240mm) Large one admittedly. Great for shifting around large amounts of cash.

benjus

Agree with the advice above - make sure you shop around for the best rate. The difference between going to a bank and a good Bureau de Change in central London could amount to £500.

For example, I work in Canary Wharf, where the only good Bureau de Change is this place: http://www.ace-fx.com/ . They are currently buying Euros for 1.19, so she'd get £5042 for her €6k. In comparison, the Post Office would give her £4615 for that money (and that's the online rate - the in-branch rate might be even worse). For conversions of between £5k and £9k Ace FX will ask for a passport or driving licence as ID, and I'd expect other places to be similar.

[Deleted User]

Interchange FX (Delivery)
£5,063.29


http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/buy-back/

benjus

travellingbum wrote: »

Interchange FX (Delivery)
£5,063.29


http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/buy-back/

Well, the "Delivery" part is inconsequential since the OP would have to cover the postage costs. The maximum insurance value for Royal Mail Special Delivery is £2500, so you'd need to send the cash in two packages, costing about £15 in total.

As the OP's profile says they're in London, a trip in person might be better... although call them first to make sure they'll honour the online rates if you turn up in person.

charlearose

if you can wait untill you go on holiday to somewhere that has the euro you may find it better to change it up then

when i changed 3200 euros approx into sterling in ireland last month i got 2550 in ireland if i had changed it in the uk i would have got 2370 so its a big difference

sueeve

And if you go somewhere not in the euro zone, N America, Egypt etc, just take your spending money in Euros. You'd have to pay exchange commission with sterling, so no difference. I go to Canada and take left over Euros to change and spend. Then bank equivalent for your Mum