Nerdy Note Discussion: Scottish Bank Notes Aren’t Legal Tender...

corbyboy

While I don't think anybody is intentionally having a go at the Scots, I do think you should be careful when publishing this sort of information on a website as popular as this.

While it might be true that "Scottish bank notes aren't legal tender," you should make it clear that "legal tender" is a misunderstood, largely irrelevant term that has little impact on whether a note is "accepted" or not.

I remember working in a petrol station a few years ago when they stopped accepting cheques. The number of people who would say "you have to accept cheques, they're legal tender" was a nightmare.

No conspiracy here though...

scott_lithgows

As a proud Scot you wont be surprised when I say I want to keep "our" money however it makes no sense to me that the Australian owned Clydesdale bank have the right to produce banknotes up here while the 100% Scots owned Dunfermline and Scottish building society cant!
IMO either the Royal Bank or Bank of Scotland should be the sole producer of these Scots notes.
There are quite a few cash machines up here which dish out Bank of England notes(airports/major train stations) so if i,m holidaying down south I get my money from these machines as to me its no different to going abroad and getting some of the local currency.

Zundapp

Syntagma wrote: »

Mac, I understand what you're saying; by the same token, would you take lewist to task for complaining about Northern Rock being billed as a British bank?

Are the London Olympics 2012 British? Or just English?

All of us in this debate, Scottish and English, are British. There's enough disunity and discord in the world as it is without us contriving any more.

Please.

No, the LONDON Olympics aren't Scottish or even English. They're LONDON Olympics - and they can keep them!

Now there's some more disunity and discord....!

Edinburghlass_2

My favourite newish note from Bank of Scotland is the £10 featuring the Glenfinnan viaduct as seen in the Harry Potter movies.

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

and it doesn't bother me whose notes I'm spending

chasvfry

I once had a wonderfully satisying experience. I had ordered an inexpensive item in a jewellry shop and offered Scottish notes. Got the humming and hawing experience and the message that they didn't usually accept Scottish notes.

I then pointed to a really expensive item and said that I wanted to pay this with my credit card. Suddenly they were all over me and my Scottish notes were the best thing since sliced bread.

produced my credit card to waiting grasping hands and then told them to stick it.

The looks on their faces were wonderful

Charlie

HelenKA_2

Well, many years of having my English relatives making faces and trying to swap Scottish notes so that they don't have difficulty spending if left over at the end of their trip not to mention my own traumas on visits down have made me feel very resentful of this commonly held view.

My only hope is that this very thread will serve to educate the masses so we won't be given such dirty looks in the future.

Helen

Mac2308

MSE_Martin wrote: »

The more appropriate equivalent headline would've been "english notes are legal tender in england..." except that wouldn't really be an interesting nerdy fact to people...

The fact is Scottish notes aren't technically legal tender IN SCOTLAND. Yet that doesn't make them unusable there nor in England. However there is no legal right for a shopkeeper or retailer to take any form of currency - they can refuse any transaction; even if it is legal tender.

Most English shops take Scottish notes in my experience. But they do not have to. Nor do they have to take English notes.

YEt if you have a debt against you in a English court of law and offer to settle in English notes they can't refuse, but they can refuse scottish notes - both in Scotland and England.


The nerdy note is a new section of fun snippets. The intent is to show some of the quirkier side of money.

Martin, I am so glad you have not tried to baffle with BS with your response(light hearted sarcasm intended!!) but surely the subject of this thread is misguided at best. It has certainly ruffled a few feathers!!

Mac2308

Zundapp wrote: »

No, the LONDON Olympics aren't Scottish or even English. They're LONDON Olympics - and they can keep them!

Now there's some more disunity and discord....!

It's the old adage of anything north of Watford doesn't involve the rest of Britian.

And the other point is northern Rock were (are) not a British Bank, there is no such thing. Northern Rock were (are) an English bank. :beer:

mesachoriochris

Why can't we all vote to adopt the euro and make life simpler

rosyapplecart

I understand the manner in which this article was meant but I agree with some other posters that it potentially wasn't the wisest of choices. However, maybe in a round about way it may assist in correcting the current legal situation.

Many people on this site are short of a few bob. We have the ridiculous situation in the UK where some shopkeepers (predominately with Scottish notes in England but the same does happen with NI notes in Scotland) either refuse to take notes or think it's a good 'wheez' to have a laugh and say we'll offer 98p in the pound. If you are short of cash you don't have the opportunity to take an extra BoE £20 out the cash point and keep the Scottish/NI note in your pocket, and certainly don't want the indignity of explaining your financial situation to a shopkeeper.

Those who have time to read this thread will no doubt come away more educated. Those who don't have time (my guess the vast majority) will have their misconceptions solidified.

This issue was raised recently in the Scottish Parliament as area of concern and one that leads to discrimination.
"S2M-5367 Ms Sandra White: My Money is as Good as Yours—That the Parliament notes with concern the increasing number of establishments in England that are refusing to accept Scottish banknotes, viewing this form of discrimination as something which calls into question the benefits Scotland receives from being part of the United Kingdom; expresses continuing bemusement that Scottish banknotes are not legal tender in either Scotland or the rest of the UK, while the only legal tender are coins from the Royal Mint and some of these are subject to limitations, for example £1 worth of 1p coins is legal tender but £1.01 is not and £1 and £2 coins are legal tender in Scotland to an unlimited amount; notes that all money, whether printed in Glasgow or London, is subject to the same requirement to carrying a promise to pay the bearer the value of the note, and therefore believes that the Scottish Executive should make representations to the Secretary of State for Scotland to change Schedule 5, Part II, A1 of the Scotland Act 1998, which states that the issue and circulation of money is a reserved matter and therefore that the Scottish Parliament has no powers to alter the legal position of Scottish banknotes, thus ending this queer and somewhat confusing situation."