MSE News: Got a £50 note? Check it's not about to be withdrawn

Former_MSE_Darryl

"Anyone with a £50 note should check now if it's an old version, as you won't be able to spend it from Thursday 1 May..."

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Got a £50 note? Check it's not about to be withdrawn



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DaveF327

I'd like to see people try spending it before then anyway. Present a nice crisp £50 note in this country, and most shopkeepers / cashiers recoil in horror as if you've presented them with a sheet of used toilet paper.

I had a new style £50 note refused because the silly old bat had "never seen one before". Surely it's the retailer's responsibility to familiarise themselves with all legal tender and their security features (and train their staff in the same) before opening their doors to the public. Banks even issue posters to make people aware of new notes, but this wealth of knowledge seems to escape some of England's backwaters.

In a Dutch supermarket, a cashier accepted my €100 note for €30 worth of stuff without batting an eyelid, but over here, you're stuck with a £50 note for life - well, until the next casino visit!

glider3560

DaveF327 wrote: »

I'd like to see people try spending it before then anyway. Present a nice crisp £50 note in this country, and most shopkeepers / cashiers recoil in horror as if you've presented them with a sheet of used toilet paper.

In London, £50 notes have become quite common. I've seen people withdrawing (reasonably small amounts of) money at the Post Office or bank asking for £50 notes. Also seen people using £50 notes to pay for a few pounds of shopping in the supermarket.

I'm sure the rest of the country will follow soon, what with everything getting more expensive.

DaveF327

glider3560 wrote: »

what with everything getting more expensive.

That was my logic back in the late 80s / early 90s!

When £50 notes were first issued (I remember the big brown ones with Christopher Wren on the back!) fifty pounds was a lot of money, so there was no demand for a larger note. Nowadays, I feel a £100 note is long overdue. It would make paying builders a lot easier, but I can't see it happening unless the general public outside London have more faith in the integrity of anything over a 20.

JKSandy

God sake. I'll need to update the template in my machine.

chattychappy

Silly and misleading headline - it's up to shops whether you can spend them or not. Only legal tender status is changing.

Legal tender is only what has to be accepted in payment of a debt. CCs are not legal tender. Perhaps we should have a headline saying you won't be able to use CCs in shops.

I had no problem using some £20 notes in a Wetherpoons pub after they had been "withdrawn". I did point out to the staff that they were the "old type".

I have a number of customers who pay cash. I'll accept any banknote - on the basis that the Bank of England promise stands.

Everynamestaken

The ones that are about to be withdrawn are horrible looking notes anyway.

The newer version is alot better on all counts.

I also agree that more people are accustomed to them. I have a quick story:

I once went into a bar, and after changing the 2nd 50 pound note of the evening, a lady behind the bar came straight up and said "we're not accepting anymore of your notes anymore, so don't even attempt to try it". I think the manager had told his staff that they were not meant to accept 50's, but nevertheless I don't think he told them to tell his staff to tell customers in that sort of way.

I had a quick word with the manager and told him it might be useful to get his staff to familiarise themselves with the bank notes that are legal tender and that I didn't appreciate been spoken to like that, I then received a round of drinks free on the house. :beer:

orudge

DaveF327 wrote: »

Nowadays, I feel a £100 note is long overdue. It would make paying builders a lot easier, but I can't see it happening unless the general public outside London have more faith in the integrity of anything over a 20.

Plenty of £100 notes to be found in the UK - they're currently issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, Bank of Ireland, First Trust Bank and Northern Bank (now Dansk Bank). Good luck getting them accepted in England or Wales though.

You can still find the odd £1 note in Scotland, but only the Royal Bank of Scotland issues it, and I've not seen any "in the wild" for quite a few years now!

iAMaLONDONER

DaveF327 wrote: »

That was my logic back in the late 80s / early 90s!

When £50 notes were first issued (I remember the big brown ones with Christopher Wren on the back!) fifty pounds was a lot of money, so there was no demand for a larger note. Nowadays, I feel a £100 note is long overdue. It would make paying builders a lot easier, but I can't see it happening unless the general public outside London have more faith in the integrity of anything over a 20.

Maybe it's time for a Bank of London to be opened and to print £100 notes- after all London has more wealth and people than Scotland lol!

Stompa

I don't think I've ever possessed a £50 note!

zerog

Everynamestaken wrote: »

I had a quick word with the manager and told him it might be useful to get his staff to familiarise themselves with the bank notes that are legal tender and that I didn't appreciate been spoken to like that, I then received a round of drinks free on the house. :beer:

It might be useful to familiarise yourself with what legal tender means, even if there is no excuse for bar staff to be rude.

I don't understand why anyone has 50s anyway. If I ever get one it goes straight in the bank. I suspect a lot of them are outside the UK.

I wouldn't spend above £20 in a place which didn't take card, which makes £50s non-useful. If paying the builder, surely they will prefer £20s too since they will have the same sort of trouble spending £50s.