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

Boggles1234

I run a shop and we don't take Scottish/NI notes.

This has absolutely nothing to do with what is or isn't legal tender. It is simply because of 3 things.

Firstly i can't get rid of them - my customers won't take them in their change. If I insist then the customer doesn't come back again. I then have to pay them into the bank and withdraw acceptable notes. As it is a business account I have to pay to deposit money and pay to withdraw money. Not very money-saving.
Secondly the other shops in this area don't them so they used to send people along to us to swap them without buying anything which means either I have to turn them down and again upset/lose a customer or swap them which uses all my change and again costs me at the bank when I have to buy more.
And finally, because they are less common around these parts than English notes, my staff are less likely to spot forgeries. Especially since there is a dodgy guy at the local market who is well known for selling bags of fake pound coins and fake Sottish notes.

Oh and Mikeyboy - someone once tried to claim the goods were free as i wouldn't accept a note from a Royal bank with a picture of the Queen on it. He changed his mind as soon as I started counting his change out in Canadian dollar bills from the Royal Bank of Canada with a picture of the Queen on them!

NBLondon2007

Boggles1234 wrote: »

I run a shop and we don't take Scottish/NI notes.

Firstly i can't get rid of them - my customers won't take them in their change. If I insist then the customer doesn't come back again. I then have to pay them into the bank and withdraw acceptable notes.

If I remember rightly - you are under no obligation to offer change if the customer does not have the exact money - so you can give them Hobson's choice. Though, as you say, you risk them not returning. Same as you risk the customer offering a Scottish note walking out. Which is the bigger risk?

badgerbuckets

Here in beautiful Northern Ireland, we have a whole range of bank notes: English notes, Bank of Ireland, Northern Bank, Ulster Bank, and even Scottish notes..... plus the odd Euro! All are legal tender here, but just try and use a Northern Irish note in England..... not the first time someone has called security when I have tendered one. Fact is, they ALL say 'Pounds Sterling' - and are LEGAL tender throughout the UK.

Hats off to the Scots, who willingly accept our notes!

By the way - have a look at your bank paying in slip. Does it have an entry for 'S & I Notes'? S and I? Scottish and Irish......

edd921

I work in the shop at my university, and as a result we have customers who have Scottish notes (including £1), Northern Irish notes and even Gibraltar notes.
As long as it says sterling, I accept it and NatWest happily accept them when I bank them, through their cash counting centre in Tamworth, and I'd guess this would be the case in branch as well.
When I worked at Waitrose the rule was also that if it said sterling on it, it was fine.

missile

Sean Connery for President.

Tigerone

As a retailer on the south coast I do not accept Scottish notes due to the high number of forgeries, equally if I ever went to Scotland I wouldn't expect the jocks to accept English notes. On the rare occassions I've had jocks in my shop I didnt have a clue what they were talking about anyway.

alibalibee2

My Family live in York and I live in Edinburgh. Can I say that I have never been refused by any shop in Scotland when I have used an English note. In fact they are more and more common her now.

With regards to using Scottish notes in england it is a joke! Everytime I visit my family I have issues. Even big stores like Tescos made a huge scene and called for a manager when I attempted to pay with a Scottish note. It was very embarassing as it was a saturday afternoon and I was made to feel like a criminal. The manager that day got more than he bargained for infront of his customers when I told him he was discriminating in a rather loud voice.

There was then the incident at Leeds/Bradford airport. My flight from spain was delayed and we arrived in very early in the morning. My baggage was last off so when I went to pay for the parking ticket the place was virtually empty. I had put aside the money and tried to pay at the machine. It would not accept my Scottish notes and I had no other form of payment on me as my husband had gone outside and he had the wallet. The machine would not give me my ticket back and we were left stranded for 6 hours until staff who could help came in.

I have spoken to my bank (Bank of Scotland) who have told me that the number of forgeries is greater with English notes so why do English shop owners always use this excuse? Next time I will get the largest trolley load of items at tescos, take it to the tills and if they refuse my payment I will gladly tell them I don't want it anymore.

Anyway I am off to Mexico in 3 weeks and I belive they have no problems in accepting Scottish notes!!!!

cello57

Joe65 wrote: »

How else (short of UDI) can it get it's own pictures on Euro's when the rest of UK joins, unless it joins first ?

Sorry mate, but there are no pictures distinctive to nations on Euro notes, just coins. The notes are the same across the EU.

On a mote practical note, I run a business and am often offered notes from Scotland and NI, and the main problem is that we don't know the notes well enough to make a judgement on their validity. I know what Euro notes look like and the security features they have, but Northern Bank? Clydesdale?

I haven't ever taken a wrong 'un but they must be out there waiting to get me.

adouglasmhor

badgerbuckets wrote: »

Here in beautiful Northern Ireland, we have a whole range of bank notes: English notes, Bank of Ireland, Northern Bank, Ulster Bank, and even Scottish notes..... plus the odd Euro! All are legal tender here, but just try and use a Northern Irish note in England..... not the first time someone has called security when I have tendered one. Fact is, they ALL say 'Pounds Sterling' - and are LEGAL tender throughout the UK.
Hats off to the Scots, who willingly accept our notes!

By the way - have a look at your bank paying in slip. Does it have an entry for 'S & I Notes'? S and I? Scottish and Irish......

No they aren't. Have you even read any of the thread?

Colin_Kee

OK so what about Isle Of Man coins.. if they are not part of the UK then how come I've used & been given as change, Isle Of Man coins in shops in N.Ireland. Apart from the "Stamp" on them they are Identical in size, colour & shape to any other UK coin. Am I comitting Fraud??