Foreign bank won't accept 'marked' dollars

kuepper

I'm abroad and took $ I got from M&S. When I tried to change them the bank wouldn't accept all of them as 2 had little bits of scribble on them and some others had ink marks along the edge. Why is this, and am I now stuck with them?

eDicky

Which country, Thailand..?

Try a money changer instead of bank.

Why would you buy cash dollars to take somewhere that you have to exchange again to local currency, or were they leftover from previous..?

The marked notes are still fully valid elsewhere.

comeandgo

We did similar when we went to Tanzania as you can’t buy their currency in UK.  We took dollars to exchange but we were warned by others who had been there that the dollars had to be immaculate.  I think M and S will buy them back from you but off course you will get a lower rate than you bought them for.

Voyager2002

kuepper said:

I'm abroad and took $ I got from M&S. When I tried to change them the bank wouldn't accept all of them as 2 had little bits of scribble on them and some others had ink marks along the edge. Why is this, and am I now stuck with them?

Yes, this is a well-known problem. You should not have accepted those notes from M and S. Save them, and return them as unsatisfactory to the Bureaux that sold them to you.

kuepper

eDicky said:

Which country, Thailand..?

Try a money changer instead of bank.

Why would you buy cash dollars to take somewhere that you have to exchange again to local currency, or were they leftover from previous..?

Uzbekistan. 

I'm in Uzbekistan and was advised to take dollars by travel Co. and guide books as 1) can't buy UZS in Uk, 2) GBP not widely accepted and 3)cash machines frequently empty as they quickly run out of notes - you get  1,000,000 UZS for £80

kuepper

Voyager2002 said:

kuepper said:

I'm abroad and took $ I got from M&S. When I tried to change them the bank wouldn't accept all of them as 2 had little bits of scribble on them and some others had ink marks along the edge. Why is this, and am I now stuck with them?

Yes, this is a well-known problem. You should not have accepted those notes from M and S. Save them, and return them as unsatisfactory to the Bureaux that sold them to you.

No choice but to save them. When I got the money it was not over the counter, itarrived in sealed envelopes with $100 in each. I just counted them and never noticed any marks

Mr.Generous

kuepper said:

eDicky said:

Which country, Thailand..?

Try a money changer instead of bank.

Why would you buy cash dollars to take somewhere that you have to exchange again to local currency, or were they leftover from previous..?

Uzbekistan. 

I'm in Uzbekistan and was advised to take dollars by travel Co. and guide books as 1) can't buy UZS in Uk, 2) GBP not widely accepted and 3)cash machines frequently empty as they quickly run out of notes - you get  1,000,000 UZS for £80

I might move there, I've always wanted to be a multi millionaire!!

Voyager2002

Mr.Generous said:

I might move there, I've always wanted to be a multi millionaire!!

Consider Vietnam, where a million Dong costs a similar amount in sterling. And just imagine telling your friends that you are now a Dong millionaire!

RobM99

Voyager2002 said:

Mr.Generous said:

I might move there, I've always wanted to be a multi millionaire!!

Consider Vietnam, where a million Dong costs a similar amount in sterling. And just imagine telling your friends that you are now a Dong millionaire!

Lightweight! I bought a 10 trillion Zimbabwe dollars for 99p including postage!

Doshwaster

Yes, some countries are very sensitive to even the smallest imperfections in foreign currency, especially high denomination notes. I think the fear is that if they cannot pass it on then they will be stuck with it.

Worst country I found for this is Cambodia where any note  $20 and above had to be immaculate. I was stuck with a $100 bill which I'd got out of an ATM which had the tinniest tear in it but nobody would accept it. Flew to Thailand and it was taken without a second glance.

Tip: If taking US dollars/Euros out of an ATM, don't select a multiple of 100 as you may get issued hundreds. Pick an amount ending in 90 or 10 to force it to issue lower denomination notes.