I'm paying in sterling, so what's wrong with my cash?

molerat

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

Is it really that big a deal if they get refused? No, you only make it a big deal if you choose to.

With so many fakes flooding the country its not surprising employees are overly cautious.

If all you have is a wallet full of them then it can be a major problem especially if you have just filled your car up with petrol.

antrobus

MSE_Tony wrote: »

I'm paying in sterling, so what's wrong with my cash?

It's not legal tender.

balletshoes

molerat wrote: »

It took ages for an English Tesco to decide whether or not they would accept a Scottish £5 note, Mrs M had nipped in without her purse whilst I waited in the car. Another shopkeeper came running out of the shop after he had already accepted a Sottish £10. I have heard some English self scans will not accept them. When I caught a bus from Gatwick I gave him a Scottish note and he gave me the change in Scottish £1 notes. Never have any problems in Blackpool though.

I live in the East Midlands, its the Scottish £5 notes that will cause me problems, Scottish £10 and £20 notes are accepted everywhere I've used them here (especially when they hear my accent). We were in London last month, and I used Scottish £10 notes there too, none were refused, although most were checked by the staff before they put them in the till. I did have one guy in a chain store in Stratford think they were euros and start doing a currency conversion before I told him they were Scottish notes, same as English.

Bizzie_Lizzie

Re message #13 - but they are legal currency. See this:

http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/legal_position.php

My aunt had a Scottish note turned down by a local Kent shop on the grounds that they didn't have the expertise to determine whether or not it was counterfeit.

Horseunderwater

Never heard so much rubbish. They are legal tender in England and rest of UK. They look different and may be smaller than English ones. But if you have one of those pens to check notes are genuine, then all you have to do is dot it with one of those. A fake will definitely show up then! Self scanning money machines probably will not accept them as they cannot program them to do so. We used to have that problem with them in the cashing in machine area where I worked as a bus driver. So we would process them in as cash vouchers or if we had time get them swapped at a bank. In fact we had far more problems with £50 notes(english ones) than we ever had with any from north of the border.

adouglasmhor

I was in Luton many years ago (When Ireland still had the punth) I was flying from Luton to Germany after flying Belfast to to Luton, Get my sarnie and my pint of Guinness from the servers then waited in the queue to pay, Gets to the front and the girl (who was slower than a week in gaol) looks at the Northern Bank tenner I offered and says "we don't take them" we take the ones that say Dublin but not the ones that say Belfast! I said it's the other way round Belfast is part of the UK, Dublin is in the republic" No she says, as I was in a hurry I was supping my pint as she spoke, she went of to get her supervisor - who took ages to come, I had necked the pint and left the empty against the till, the supervisor explained the Belfast ones were the ones she was to accept. I paid for the sandwich and left

Free pint though!

chattychappy

They are not legal tender, but that's beside the point. Legal tender is what has to be accepted in payment for a debt. A shop is always free to accept or reject any form of currency (including BoE notes) when you are buying something.

Reality is, staff are more likely to be able to detect fakes if they are familiar with the originals.

No sympathy - if you pitch up in England with an Irish note, then you take your chances. If you don't like the means of payment they offer, then go elsewhere.

Wee_Bargain_Hunter

chattychappy wrote: »

No sympathy - if you pitch up in England with an Irish note, then you take your chances. If you don't like the means of payment they offer, then go elsewhere.

But they were not Irish notes. They were Northern Irish notes, ie from part of the UK and in the same, sterling, currency as notes from England and Wales.
Irish notes, from the southern part of the island, are entirely different as they are in euros.

chattychappy

Wee_Bargain_Hunter wrote: »

But they were not Irish notes. They were Northern Irish notes, ie from part of the UK and in the same, sterling, currency as notes from England and Wales.
Irish notes, from the southern part of the island, are entirely different as they are in euros.

Thanks, I understand that - in the context of this thread I was using Irish to mean Northern Irish as opposed to English. Should have been clearer. I see that BoI has its registered office in England, to make it even more fun!

But my post stands - I have the same view about Scottish bank notes in England. In the past I accepted them in my business (London area), but would never foist them upon others.

For some time, the BoE has been the exclusive issuer of banknotes in England. This is the way it is in England. Scotland and NI have gone a different way.

Shops are free to choose what they accept/reject. It's perfectly reasonable of them to refuse non-English notes if they wish to. Understandable IMHO if staff don't often see them.

adouglasmhor

chattychappy wrote: »

Thanks, I understand that - in the context of this thread I was using Irish to mean Northern Irish as opposed to English. Should have been clearer. I see that BoI has its registered office in England, to make it even more fun!

But my post stands - I have the same view about Scottish bank notes in England. In the past I accepted them in my business (London area), but would never foist them upon others.

For some time, the BoE has been the exclusive issuer of banknotes in England. This is the way it is in England. Scotland and NI have gone a different way.

Shops are free to choose what they accept/reject. It's perfectly reasonable of them to refuse non-English notes if they wish to. Understandable IMHO if staff don't often see them.

It's acceptable in law, but not reasonable, ignorance is no excuse. They are accepted tender in the whole of the UK. Legal tender only refers to settlement of a debt not purchasing.