What’s wrong with Scottish notes in England?
Posted by New_Contribution7094@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 368 comments
I really don’t get it. I was just refused to use £20 Scottish notes in B&M. They are not fakes! Why do stores in England hate Scottish notes !!!???
Infinite-Glass-3302@reddit
If its a wee corner shop or food stall or something then I can see where their coming from to an extent. But a national chain of huge stores like b and m? They'd be getting told to accept it
lemonsqueezy55@reddit
They don't see them very often, so aren't familiar enough with them to have the confidence they are genuine and not fake.
moist-v0n-lipwig@reddit
And because of that other customers won’t accept them.
I think it also depends on what part of the country you are in, if I remember correctly they were accepted in Newcastle.
Madruck_s@reddit
They ate accepted all over the country it sj8st some places don't trylyst them to not be fake as each bank has its own design so it's very hard to tell.
My Scottish father in law brings a big stack of Scottish notes with him when he visits England just to fuck with people. "I'll have you know it's legal tender" is only ever said by a Scottish person.
GoldenBhoys@reddit
There not even legal tender here in Scotland, there a promissory note which don’t have to be accepted anywhere. Although that wouldn’t stop me insisting they were when I am down south.
Warm-Reference-4965@reddit
Lol yes. My friend who lives in Scotland (and is actually coming to stay with me this weekend) always brings lots of cash with him and pays with that. I swear it's because he wants to have a shit fit if staff aren't sure about them. He does love a customer services drama!
Gordy748@reddit
I think legally they have to be accepted everywhere because they’re legal tender in the UK. Of course, that argument is not likely to be successful to the average cashier.
defaltCM@reddit
Legal tender in the UK just means the courts have to accept it to pay off a debt. Legal tender does not mean a business has to accept the money for a transaction when buying something. Scottish notes aren't actually classed as legal tender in England and Wales anyways, parliament approves their use but only bank of England notes are legal tender in the those areas. But again legal tender does not mean someone has to accept it when your buying something, if a shop really wanted to they could turn around and refuse any cash payment even if its with a common £5 note, sure you can kick up a fuss but legally they have the full right to refuse any payment, legal tender or not and likewise they can accept payment in any form if they agree.
Oz10tayshus@reddit
Actually, no. My ex is very senior in Trading Standards, and she says the law is that if you're open for business in the UK, then you must accept any legal tender including Scottish notes.
As I said, though, the reality is persuading someone this is the case.
£50 notes can be a different transaction as stores might not have the right change. So from a commercial legal standpoint, the stores less refuse them than cannot complete the transaction.
defaltCM@reddit
You dont have too at all. You have full right to refuse a transaction regardless of what they are paying with. Check the government's website yourself if you like and even they clearly explain legal tender just means it has to be accepted as a form of payment of a debt unless both parties agreed on a different form of repayment.Any shop, business, personal deal whatever can refuse any form of payment if they wish regardless of the notes being legal tender or not. Anyways, Scottish notes are not classed as legal tender in England and Wales so the whole point of arguing that would be mute.
Your ex was either wrong, explaining a different rule to you, or you have made a mistake in your statement.
PMW84@reddit
Absolute rubbish. As a business you can refuse any sale for any reason as long as its not due to protected characteristics.
NifferKat@reddit
Indeed, so they have to go to the bottom of the till and then to the bank which may be a hassle they may choose is a hassle too much.
Finnegan-05@reddit
They still have to make a bank deposit so that is not a hassle
Alicam123@reddit
A bank or post office will accept them no problem and swap for free. But probably best to use card payments anyway.
jolittletime@reddit
Ive also found that rail stations and the London underground will.take them no question.
Beartato4772@reddit
This is an underrated reason. If they take that Scottish note it's now part of their incredibly restricted float and no fucker wants it.
TheseThoseThine@reddit
Yep, I grew up in Carlisle so would see Scottish notes regularly. Now live in Yorkshire and they definitely get a lot more scrutiny, if not outright refused.
DrakenWilson@reddit
Yorkshire here too.
Once came back from Scotland after a job took me up there. Nipped in to a pharmacy next to my GP clinic when I got back home and paid with a Scottish tenner since it was the only note left in my wallet.
The lass behind the tills got out a book with all the checks to tell if currency is legit or not and spent 10 minutes checking it.
She did finally accept it but I don’t think I’ll use Scottish currency there again
SpikeVonLipwig@reddit
I’m just replying because of your username :)
Ragingdildo3@reddit
Don’t make old raging feel left out 😢
thecatsothermother@reddit
GNU, STP
Speshal__@reddit
GNU.
This getting odd, I just replied to a SamuelVimes.
Must be a lot of magic bumping into the hills.
VerbingNoun413@reddit
Probably cause of quantum.
Strict-Cause2761@reddit
Ineffable quantum
Jimmyboro@reddit
I love that trilogy, I would have loved to have seen more of Moist and Spike. I have the first Edition Making Money with the reproduction notes from the mint, including the the first 'paw' note.
Treasured item!
LeastFox8059@reddit
I had the special edition Going Postal with the stamps.
Jimmyboro@reddit
Nice
Flash__PuP@reddit
WHAT?! How have I never seen this? I have a first edition hard back but no notes!!
Jimmyboro@reddit
It was a limited edition from WHSmiths.
pharmamess@reddit
I'm just replying because you are one of the best people in the world :)
Charliesmum97@reddit
GNU Terry Pratchett
__OvejaNegra@reddit
I've never had issues in Manchester. I assume it gets worse the further south you go.
No one warned me about it when I went to London :(
Tracie10000@reddit
Thing is this wouldn't be passed on to another customer. Smaller notes would but not £20s. I lived in Bristol for a few years and remember accepting it but I double checked first.
I live in Felixstowe and don't think i have ever seen one here. I certainly wouldn't object to taking one as change.
Material-Net-5171@reddit
Some people still want cashback when they pay with card. Those people could be handed a £20.
Tracie10000@reddit
Dang I forgot cashback was a thing
Kyle_2099@reddit
B&M doesn't do cashback. Till staff aren't even allowed to do refunds on their own.
Material-Net-5171@reddit
Ok, fair point about B&M, but I was making a generalised statement in response to what I read a similarly generalised statement. It's not impossible that the person I was replying to was talking about B&M specifically.
weedbearsandpie@reddit
Some shops in Newcastle and Carlisle will take them, any further south and they'll tell you where to go, even in Newcastle and Carlisle half the places wont touch them
carbsandchaos@reddit
I am further south, in the east of England, and I am able to use scottish notes here. I visit Scotland every month so often have notes when I come back.
Grant_Son@reddit
I had no problems in London. Manchester got some funny looks and people being arsey but they took them grudgingly.
shabba182@reddit
You would be an expert on counterfeit notes surely?
slainascully@reddit
By working in a shop? Only the notes you come across frequently
shabba182@reddit
No, going by their username. Google it
thecatsothermother@reddit
Better, read the book "Making Money by Sir Terry Pratchett.
thechosengobbo@reddit
Right now. We'll wait.
Aeoniuma@reddit
And Blackpool
pnlrogue1@reddit
No-one batted an eyelid if you paid with them in Carlisle when I was at university there in the 00s
Current_Fly9337@reddit
I’m in Newcastle and haven’t tried to hand one over for a while. I just stick them through the self check outs at supermarkets.
MattheqAC@reddit
This. In Scotland, we see English notes, and notes issued by three different banks, in England if you ever see a Scottish note it's an event.
Opening_Succotash_95@reddit
You also get Northern Irish notes (which are confusingly labelled Danske) in the west of Scotland fairly often, so we're used to all the differences.
Both-Silver-8783@reddit
Saw a woman serving in a bakery in Brentford refuse to take a northern Irish bank note. To be fair after the bloke left someone had to point out Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom not part of Eire. In Felixstowe was in a cafe when a Scottish couple tried to pay with a Scottish banknote. The woman behind the counter apologised told them the problem was Scottish notes didn’t work on her counterfeit note scanner.
Kickstart68@reddit
It was more confusing when the Republics currency was also the pound (also known as the Punt)
Dave80@reddit
She has every right to do so, the only legal tender in the UK is that produced by the Bank of England. Any shop can refuse NI or Scottish notes, even in NI or Scotland.
ElementaryRogue@reddit
Bank of England notes aren't legal tender in Scotland.
MattheqAC@reddit
Bank of Scotland notes aren't legal tender in Scotland
ElementaryRogue@reddit
I never claimed they are.
MattheqAC@reddit
I know, was just mentioning
FOTORABIA23@reddit
Its true. Im sick of the hassle. I swap over to the English ones before i leave.
GoHomeCryWantToDie@reddit
They can refuse Bank of England ones too.
Scottish_squirrel@reddit
I worked in Primark in the early 2000. We'd get a lot of Irish notes through the tills. Haven't seen one since then.
Scottish_squirrel@reddit
I worked in Primark in the early 2000. We'd get a lot of Irish notes through the tills. Haven't seen one since then.
The_Flurr@reddit
I wasn't even aware that NI had their own notes until now.
If you really want something hard to spend, get some Manx notes.
The cafe next to the ferry port wouldn't accept them.
Dave80@reddit
Manx money isn't legal currency in the UK, although English money is legal tender on the isle of Man.
ReliableWardrobe@reddit
yeah the IOM isn't actually in the UK so their money isn't the same!
sodsto@reddit
obviously that's only the notes from Danske bank; there are two other NI banks that issue notes.
the problem is the same as a scottish note in most of england: a northern irish note in most of scotland receives extra scrutiny because it's rare.
Salty-Value8837@reddit
The English have always found some way to piss Scot's off.
ArmadilloFront1087@reddit
And fakers know this. Most of the fake ones we see further south are Scottish or Irish notes as they rely on us not knowing the fakes from the real ones. The safest option is just to refuse them
Intelligent_Mine_121@reddit
Exacerbated by the fact that there are three different banks printing them and they come in more denominations than English notes (or at least they used to, are they still issuing £1 and £100 notes?). A quick check on Wikipedia suggests there are 13 designs of Scottish banknote in circulation compared to four for England and Wales (only three of which most retailers accept).
Applejack235@reddit
Don't know about hundreds, but the £1 notes were phased out in the early 00s, we used to collect them up when I worked in the bookies to hand in to the bank when we did a deposit
Prestigious_Leg7821@reddit
I was a student in Edinburgh late 90’s/early 00’s I used to go and get £1 notes from the post office to take over the border to Newcastle to pay for stuff as 50% of the time the cashier assumed they were a fiver and you got the change from that!
ThatFatGuyMJL@reddit
Also contrary to popular belief they are no legal tender.
Of note as well, while all English money is issued by the Bank of England.
Three seperate banks issue their own, modified, bank notes.
drquakers@reddit
Legal tender also doesn't mean what most think it does, legal tender on lly applies to settling a debt (and a court mandated debt at that). A shop is fully within its rights to reject BoE notes if they want as there is no debt there (you don't yet "have" what you are purchasing).
Note that a bank is obligated to take Scottish notes.
Stokesyyyy@reddit
They were notoriously forged and many fake notes were used back in the day. I think the lingering effects of that are still here.
Alexander-Wright@reddit
It's a bit like £50 notes being refused everywhere, despite them now being a useful size to pay for things. The refusal used to confuse me, as Europe has now trouble with the equivalently valued €50.
AliceMorgon@reddit
They do the same with notes from the North of Ireland ( STILL STERLING) and I used to get paid cash from my vac job (cash in hand y’know) at university in England, because my university forbade us from working during term time.
I’m from Belfast. Of COURSE they were (STILL STERLING) Bank of Ireland notes. Which I then had to live off.
It was a nightmare.
palpatineforever@reddit
it is sterling, but it is not legal tender in England. They can be accepted as they are legal currancy but they do not have the same standing as a bank of england note and shops etc dont have to take them.
AliceMorgon@reddit
Does not mean it was not a pain in my arse when I was fresh off the ferry to Stranraer with a ton of Irish banknotes. It’s so stupid. You either want us or you don’t, take our money or fuck ALL the way off.
Ok_Attitude55@reddit
Its not your money though, its BoE money for which an Irish retail bank has issued a promisory note in place of the BoE money they hold.
I would point out English retail banks aren't allowed to give such notes. Its a confusing and risky practice for only the banks benefit banned in England and Wales 180 years ago. It wasn't banned in Ireland and Scotland because of vested interest and is basically advertising.
The Republic also bans retail banks from issuing notes since 1943, so in that at least you will get no succour. Most likely they would be banned in the North too upon reunification.
palpatineforever@reddit
why? you can't use currancy from other countries in England.
You can just walk into any bank and get them changed for free 1 for 1.
To be honest everything is contactless these days anyway, even taxis. Most busses wont take cash at all.
AliceMorgon@reddit
It’s the North of Ireland! You occupy us!
palpatineforever@reddit
England also financially supports Northen Ireland so feel free to start a petition for a referendum.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/conservative-and-dup-agreement-and-uk-government-financial-support-for-northern-ireland/uk-government-financial-support-for-northern-ireland
AliceMorgon@reddit
Sinn Féin intends to if they get back into office next year.
And rather than supporting us, your health trusts use their higher budgets to outbid us on medications so we have constant shortages.
palpatineforever@reddit
Northen Ireland has a considerably higher tax spend per person than England. So if your health trusts are not spending on medication that is a budget allocaiton issue from your own side, not an overall money one.
Pure_Cantaloupe_341@reddit
Nah, we (people in England) occupy you us much as you occupy us - we have exactly the same political rights in the UK. And let me tell you, not many people in England or elsewhere in Great Britain would care about whether Northern Ireland will remain in the UK or not. It’s not like we’re getting billions out of it - quite the opposite actually. It’s the people next to you, probably living on the other side of the “peace walls” you need to talk to about the future of Northern Ireland, not just throw weird accusations at the common folks across the Irish Sea.
SoupMaleficent9513@reddit
This. I’m Scottish but lived in London for a few years and worked in a shop. The blanket store policy was to reject Scottish notes because there were a lot of fakes going round at the time and anyone not Scottish had a hard time being able to tell the difference. I still accepted them because I was able to easily identify the fakes (they were comically obvious to me but not my colleagues).
HarketSavoy@reddit
When you’ve been handling cash for a while, you know the feel and weight of the notes. That was paper though. When we switched to plastic, the look and feel still felt unique.
AssociationGold8745@reddit
I understand the unfamiliarity with Scottish notes, but I must say I've never actually seen news of Scottish notes being particularly more likely to wind up counterfeited than other notes, I think it's just likely something old retail managers heard and pass down to new people when they first start working on a till, because it's easier than teaching them to recognise Scottish notes or explaining what to say to a customer to politely decline Scottish notes.
SoupMaleficent9513@reddit
My personal experience is 25 years ago and there did seem to be a particular influx of fake Scottish £20 notes in the Camden area. No idea about nowadays though.
lewisluther666@reddit
I was denied at Primark recently because the girl behind the counter didn't know what to do so she called her manager, who then tested it under a UV lamp and declared VERY LOUDLY with a huge queue behind me that it was a fake.
Quite humiliating.
I went home and got a blacklight out and the UV markings flowered like the fucking sun!
I got a tidy little voucher when I mentioned it to head office
M4niac81@reddit
Absolutely this. When I worked in retail we got them so rarely that they were very unfamiliar, we had no idea how to check the notes effectively so there was just a blanket "we don't accept them"
squeakstar@reddit
And each bank prints its own variation making it harder
keeponkeepingup@reddit
Exactly this. They need to be able to verify it and often they can't
SpectralDinosaur@reddit
English stores are really weird about taking anything that isn't Bank of England, to be honest. They aren't keen on taking notes from Northern Ireland either.
BenchClamp@reddit
Who uses cash nowadays?
zippy72@reddit
All card payments in the uk gives money to American companies (usually Visa Inc.) while cash purchases don't.
BenchClamp@reddit
Tesco made £3 billion profit last year. Pretty sure that greed is the main thing affecting prices rather than the 0.2% charge on my debit card. (Especially if you get a 1% cashback on purchases.)
zippy72@reddit
Depends who you're paying. For example if it's council tax then of course your council tax is a little bit higher to compensate for that transaction fee. Same with every price everywhere. They used to allow discounts for cash but Visa lobbied hard to make that illegal and they did.
BenchClamp@reddit
Pretty sure you pay council tax by direct debit or a cheque/bank transfer - so that’s not going to Visa.
zippy72@reddit
Normally yes. But when I worked at a council we basically almost didn't introduce a web payments system because of this very issue.
PortPiscarilius@reddit
A lot of people, judging by the number of people who wait for a non card-only self-service checkout to become available at Tesco.
19hammy83@reddit
Scottish bank notes are promissory notes which does not make them legal tender. The only "legal tender" in the UK are coins and bank of England notes. Even with that coins upto a certain value are legal and over value can be rejected.
1p and 2p upto 20p. So if you have 21p in one pences the shop can refuse it 5p, 10p and 20p upto £5 50p upto £10
So if you have that mate who paid his £100 fine that he didn't agree with in 1p's you know he is full of shit.
I've been in places in Spain, Italy and others where they willing to offer more for Scottish notes than English notes when it came to currency conversion. This was a long time ago, but I think it was more for the novelty value than anything else.
I think more places now are more accepting of Scottish notes, I was in Peterborough and thought it might be an issue but nope they were more than happy to take my money.
I have more of an issue because I couldn't get a pint of tennents and 20 club ks 😂
PvtRoom@reddit
BofE notes aren't legal tender. Legal tender refers to, very specifically, what cannot be refused to pay a loan.
Standard cash has a known and specific value, that may be directly accepted in exchange for goods or services. Any and Everywhere may accept £2000 in pennies, if it's worth their while.
English businesses that aren't in tourist places (or near the border), simply don't see Scottish notes often enough to know how to recognise & check them, so they're refusing them.
19hammy83@reddit
If you go onto the bank of England website it explains everything I said in a bit more detail.
As for the last bit I agree there. Not being familiar with a note would be enough to turn it away, and I wouldn't argue with someone who is only trying to keep their job
PvtRoom@reddit
"Legal tender has a narrow technical meaning that will rarely come up in everyday life. The law ensures that if you offer to fully pay off a debt to someone in a form that is considered legal tender – and there is no contract specifying another form of payment – that person cannot sue you for failing to repay."
Basically, "legal tender" a term that has become useless.
19hammy83@reddit
And the next paragraph after that? Is the part I mentioned. Why make the effort to goto the website I was talking about, read the exact page that I was referring to, but only take the information that suits you?
What about the paragraph directly under when it mentions which notes are deemed legal tender? What about the paragraph after that that tells you when the notes stop being legal tender?
The wording legal tender is used a few times in those paragraphs
Neddlings55@reddit
They hate £50 notes too,
A lot of the time its because staff are unfamiliar with them and unable to tell if they are fake or not.
Perfectly legal to refuse to take them too.
Loads of stores will take them though, especially in the north.
Poohbar@reddit
I work in a UK high street bank
Fake notes we see in order of most to least Scots and Irish £20 UK £20 and £10 UK £50
We see about 5 fake UK £20 per week In last 6 months 1 fake £50
The UK adversion to 50 is odd USA $100 and EU €100 are really common
Toc13s@reddit
It's often because there's not enough in the float to cover the change for more than obe, you you have to keep getting some.
This often involves heading to the bank.
Having a larger float is unsafe for many stores
terryjuicelawson@reddit
I don't see why not though as you need just as much float to give change from a 20. With 50s you can get rid of your 20s. How many people even try to pay with one. The funny thing is 50s are about the least faked as they are so overscrutinised.
ryekelle@reddit
Where I work, we’re not allowed 20s in the till either. £40 maximum across 10s and 5s and whatever loose change is in the drawer and that’s it
tetlee@reddit
Yeah I sold a car and was paid in fifties, trying to spend them I'd always ask if they were ok with taking them with their float. It was 50/50 even in places like tesco
Green_Sprout@reddit
Exactly why we used to refuse them when I worked in W H Smiths, we had one Old Boy who would try and pay for his newspaper and bottle of coke with a £50 and have the nerve to ask for a lot of varied change and every time I'd tell him if he wants it changing he can do it at the bank two doors down.
Ok_Plankton_4150@reddit
You work in a bank but don’t know that Scotland and Northern Ireland are part of the UK?
thereidenator@reddit
There are also £100 notes
rdu3y6@reddit
Just Scottish and Northern Irish I think? The Bank of England doesn't have a £100 note.
rdu3y6@reddit
I've heard before than £20s are faked more than £50s, which makes sense. It's basically impossible to spend a £50 without being met with suspicion while there's no questions asked if you hand over a couple of £20s.
It is weird how rare £50 notes when other currencies have notes with a much higher face value. Most people will have never even seen one, and that was still true years ago when cash was much more widely used. Do foreign currency exchanges in other countries saddle poor tourists coming to the UK with a load of £50s?
Gallusbizzim@reddit
I've never seen a UK note.
silverfish477@reddit
It’s not really odd, though. If I accept a fake £5 then I’ve lost £5. Oh well. If I accept a £50 that turns out to be fake then my loss is much greater. Easier just to not accept fifties at all. Vastly reduces the chances of my business losing money.
quartersessions@reddit
Yes, but a £50 is worth what a £20 was back when £20s were still commonplace and not thought of as particularly high-denomination. That's what's odd.
You'd think we'd change that outlook, but it hardly matters now given how few cash transactions take place.
Poohbar@reddit
But they are losing out accepting all the fake 20's.
Pukit@reddit
I use to see fake £50s in the paper format fairly often, not seen one yet in plastic. They must be half decent fakes for plastic I’d have thought.
Same_Difference_3361@reddit
When I moved from Gibraltar to UK I had to go to the bank. No one ever accepted Gibraltar Pound despite the fact they are legal tender. I mean the Gibraltar notes do almost look fake they are so colorful .... https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61W+iVL942L._AC_.jpg
CrustyHumdinger@reddit
This has been an issue since forever. Back in the '80s, when cash was king, we hated them. You had to bank them separately. Customers wouldn't take them in change.
See also: £50 notes
No-Snow-9605@reddit
I know some places would accept them, but only gave you the value of 19 shillings and sixpence 19/6.
Seemingly the banks in England charged the shop 6d when they deposited it
Deuce03@reddit
The staff ardn't familiar enough with them to be confident they're not fakes. You can have a similar issue with English £50 notes. It's annoying but it's the vendor's choice what to accept.
terryjuicelawson@reddit
Not just counterfeits too, out of date ones with old designs would be a pain.
Great-Activity-5420@reddit
It should be part of the training.
kimlesim@reddit
I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted it’s only logical. Do your job properly 🤷🏼♀️
Great-Activity-5420@reddit
Baffles me on here sometimes.
JalasKelm@reddit
Even if it is, getting one happens so rarely that people will have forgotten that training. Training only helps when it's backed up with regular practical use.
Great-Activity-5420@reddit
Training is meant to be regular. In my first job we had a poster with all the notes on. In my current jobs they don't train us or seem to care about fakes or Scottish notes.
JalasKelm@reddit
Most places will at least have an image of what to look out for, but the problem is the fakes get better.
It gets to a point they are too hard to spot especially when you're being rushed by customers in general (likely to be the case if someone trying to pass off a fake note)
Then end of the night, you find out you took a fake note, and are told it'll be coming out of your wages.
I'd rather just tell people that, no, we don't take them.
Great-Activity-5420@reddit
You can get UV lights that show the holographic images. But companies don't seem bothered. I agree it is time consuming checking all the things you need to check in order for it to be certain
Strange-Regret2524@reddit
Please dont ignore ignorance as a contributing factor too! Those people hate being left out of intelligent debate!
Geedubya0@reddit
100% Not many folk will take £20 Northern Ireland notes without querying their supervisor these days. I’m Glaswegian - have been on both sides
AethelweardSaxon@reddit
I was on holiday recently, and the chap who owned one of the tacky souvenir shops asked me for a favour, and brought out this collection of foreign notes he'd been given by customers.
He showed me some notes and asked whether he could use them if he went to England. I had absolutely no clue what they were. But on a closer look they were Northern Irish.
I've worked in a retail environment before and have seen the odd Scottish note on a rare occassion. But I realised I had never seen Northern Irish bank notes before, in fact I didn't even realise they had their own currency.
If I was behind the till in England I wouldn't accept them. I also noticed the different notes were issued by different banks, which really confused me to the point where I borderline thought they were fakes.
Biglig@reddit
I love these conversations because they are a chance to unleash my inner Lampard and point out that legal tender does not mean a shop has to take it; it means someone you owe money to has to take it.
I’m northern Irish and living in England, and I’m sure my Scottish friends here on Reddit will all relate to that moment just before you return from a visit to family when you realise you’ve got some local notes and begin scrambling desperately to get them changed back to English ones.
Mr-Negz@reddit
Did you tell them its legal tender!
Fancy-Furball@reddit
They aren't though in England and Wales. Aside from that, shops can choose what to accept. BoE explains it https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/what-is-legal-tender
Commercial-Name2093@reddit
In york a couple of weeks ago, no problem with scottish notes
Great-Activity-5420@reddit
They need to be trained. I was taught anything that says sterling (that's not fake) is accepted.
Most-Sport5264@reddit
No they ARE trained. Businesses can accept or refuse whatever they want. And the fakes are the big issue - staff will not be used to taking jock notes so they wont know how to spot a fake, so its easier just to blanket ban them.
Great-Activity-5420@reddit
It's a good way to upset some customers. But it's down to the business I'm not sure what the law is. But since some businesses no longer accept cash I guess it is possible you can refuse a note
orange_assburger@reddit
If it helps as a Scottish who often gets NI notes I get the same at home. Even though we know there are other notes familiarity with them makes people nervous
Livewire____@reddit
Just say in a loud, confident, Scottish accent:
"Ah thenk yool feynd tha's legul tendaar!"
That usually works.
Thenedslittlegirl@reddit
Unsure why you’d do it in a Belfast accent right enough
Thenedslittlegirl@reddit
They take them fine in Northumberland. I think the biggest problem is customers don’t want them back in their change because they think they won’t be able to spend them because they see them as “foreign” money.
Some people in Scotland are the same with NI notes btw. A guy I work with handed me a NI fiver after getting back from Belfast because he thought he’d struggle to spend it. I took my free fiver to Tesco and spent it fine.
rabid-fox@reddit
The whole its more likely to be fake thing while true its still statistically unlikely you'll come across one. 0.0341 percent based on 2015 numbers. England has over double the amount of counterfeitted notes but theres also more English money in circulation. Its not a good reason to be prejudice against either of the currencys.
Caveman1214@reddit
Same using Northern Irish notes. They think they’re fake, Tesco take them though
Traditional-Seesaw-5@reddit
They're not distributed enough in England that people can verify them. There's also a lot more designs. Easier to just refuse it.
vince10123@reddit
I'm in my 60s and for 40 years traveled the length of the country every week with work but for the last 30 years I've had commitments about Scottish notes but only a refusal once. I phoned the police and it was quickly sorted ( shoppkeper claimed to police he had the right to refuse service and the lovely Met officer said but your offered service your refusing payment ...legal payment and shopkeeper accepted this.
Elfynnn84@reddit
It depends WHERE in England. I would say 98% of cashiers in London are gonna refuse it in case it’s counterfeit (because they just don’t see them and so they don’t know).
In Newcastle, 98% are going to accept it… it’s a gradient between the two, but it’s weighted. You’re going to hit the 50/50 mark somewhere around York.
No_Cauliflower_6937@reddit
We don’t accept them as there are far too many fakes in circulation and we don’t see enough to distinguish between real and fake. So it’s easier to just not take the risk
Pristine-Account8384@reddit
Scottish banknotes are not legal tender (even in Scotland) and shops are not obliged to accept them.
Beartato4772@reddit
Shops are not obligated to take legal tender either.
Live-Independent-416@reddit
So straight up, Scottish notes are not legal tender in both England and Scotland. Also only Royal Mint coins are legal tender across england scotland amd N.Ireland. Notes from smaller mints with different patterns on etc people arent trained in validating these notes so rejecting them is a valid response.
If you search up 'what is legal tender' and click the bank of england this might help
Beartato4772@reddit
Legal tender has nothing to do with shops.
WholeAccording8364@reddit
I'll say it. It's because they are not legal tender in England. Look it up on the bank of England website.
Beartato4772@reddit
You can say it all you like, it's not relevant to this topic.
SimpleSymonSays@reddit
They aren’t fakes but they also aren’t legal tender, even in Scotland.
They’re a promissory note where Scottish banks hold English notes and produce Scottish notes for the same total value.
English notes are legal tender in England and Wales but not in Scotland.
Coins are legal tender everywhere in the UK.
In short, they don’t need to take them, there’s a higher risk of taking them (because of the unfamiliarity of them) and there are higher processing costs associated with taking them too.
Beartato4772@reddit
They don't need to take legal tender either.
testdasi@reddit
Scottish notes are not a legal tender in England. In fact, it's not even a legal tender, at all - not even in Scotland!
Now, whether it is a legal tender (or not), on its own, does not force the store to accept (or reject) the notes. That's a common misconception (why do you think stores can easily go cashless?)
The store can do whatever they want, even with English notes - many years ago, a store in Oxford rejected my £50 note (no reason provided other than "sorry you can't use this"), which then meant I had to go the bank, deposited it (with no issue whatsoever) then withdrew £20 to pay for whatever I wanted to buy back then (probably some ready meals from *cough* Sainsbury's *cough*).
Having said that, the fact that Scottish notes are not a legal tender (anywhere) makes it more likely that a store in England will reject it. As far as my experience goes, Scottish notes are rejected by default outside of the UK.
Side point: this was also one of the (many) concerns with the Scottish independence vote i.e. your Scottish notes would overnight became worthless anywhere outside of Scotland. Then you would have needed to, overnight, create a new currency GSP (Great Scottish Pound) to be pegged to the GBP, or free float, which would have been a nightmare for Scottish and English businesses trading with each other.
Beartato4772@reddit
Yeah, legal tender is 100% irrelevant because as you've discovered it doesn't apply to standard shop transactions anyway.
pharmamess@reddit
Hope your cough clears up soon.
LordDethBeard@reddit
Mainly because they are not legal tender (in Scotland or England)
Beartato4772@reddit
Because they're difficult to check.
But don't worry, you're going to rapidly get refused on all cash at more and more places anyway.
Sufficient_Depth_195@reddit
Who the fuck uses bank notes?
PvtRoom@reddit
people who find real things easier than virtual things.
MentalActuator5545@reddit
Once got short changed from an M&S in London. They'd assumed I'd handed them Euros 🙄
Unable-Rub1982@reddit
I visit Scotland for mountain biking often from County Durham, never had issues either way with currency.
Ok_Pen7290@reddit
No don't accept them in England ever
bumdrumfun@reddit
Wait till you try to use NI notes
Sgreaat@reddit
Used a NI £20 in a pub I was a regular in. After much deliberation on whether they'd take it a Scottish £10 came back in the change. Joke was on them, the £10 was much easier to get rid of.
My brother in law made the mistake of bringing NI notes when he came over to stay with us in England for a few days. The combination of notes people never see and his accent meant he couldn't spend them. The next time he came over he was so happy to tell me he'd planned ahead and had two English £50 notes. It had been a long time since I had a £50 note and they'd got no easier to spend. Again, his accent marking him out as being from outside the area really didn't help his discussion in the chip shop. I've no idea where he got £50 notes from, or why he couldn't just use his debit card like a normal person.
My son will often get birthday and Christmas money in NI notes. We don't even try to spend them now, too much hassle. They just go straight in the machine at the bank.
shortercrust@reddit
I’ve had NI notes refused in Scotland
Fun_Werewolf_4567@reddit
I came to say that. Won’t be spending my Northern Bank 20 until I go back !
Opening_Succotash_95@reddit
Your best bet for spending those is in Glasgow. Pubs especially see them a lot because of the football fans coming over.
hazps@reddit
Even the autodeposit machine at my bank doesn't take them. I had to do it through the teller last time I was depositing some.
mralistair@reddit
I mean they have fucking "DANSKE BANK" written on them.
elementarydrw@reddit
One of the 4 varieties do... or Ulster Bank, Or First Trust, or Bank of Ireland - that have the Bushmills Distillery on them.
Muayry@reddit
Or Jersey🤣
Far_Leg6463@reddit
It’s the same with Northern Ireland notes (pound sterling). Our sterling just isn’t good enough it seems.
MaverickScotsman@reddit
The actual reason is English exceptionalism / colonialist attitudes towards the other UK nations. I often imagine what it would be like if all Scottish, Welsh, and N.Irish businesses refused English banknotes. The tantrums would be wild.
The English believe that the rest of the UK is actually English, when faced with the reality that Scotish, Welsh and N.Irish people exist and that they are different, i.e. use different bank notes, it short circuits their brains and they have to assert their English/British dominance over the tribal savage / lesser human / conquered peoples in their midst.
Basically the English think they own us, and we have to behave "properly", speak "properly", and use "proper" money, and when I say "proper" I mean "English". And, of course, they will say "oh, the money might be fake", again a colonialist attitude, the belief that Scots/Welsh/N.Irish are all criminals making their own fake banknotes. Can you imagine how the English would behave if their money was refused and they were accused of being a criminal every time they tried to pay for something in Scotland, Wales or N.I.
I dont believe there is any other country on Earth where money from a bank in one part of that country, be it India, America, China, Russia, S.Africa, Nigeria, Malaysia, Brazil etc. Isn't accepted in another part of, supposedly, the same country. Refusing a Scottish bank note is a uniquely English affliction, born from a uniquely English mixture of arrogance, ignorance and prejudice. After over 300 years you would think they would have learned what a Scottish Bank note looks like, and yet here we are.
WorkingManner23RL@reddit
I had a Gibraltan 20p that a fella in tesco called his manager for. He learnt where and what Gibraltar was that day.
Indigo-Waterfall@reddit
Because they are used so infrequently it’s harder to spot counterfeit notes.
Glasgowghirl67@reddit
I’m from Scotland and in places in England where they are used to having a lot of Scottish tourists I’ve had no issue. I had someone check with the manager when I visited my brother when he lived in a small village. If someone doesn’t know what to check to see if it is fake they won’t want to risk using it. Where I am it is fake Bank of England £20s with King Charles on them that people are attempting to use. I’ve caught a couple people trying it at my work.
SantaFe91@reddit
In case this hasn’t already been posted:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/what-is-legal-tender
Altruistic_Ad5444@reddit
I wish people would get this message but they like the phrase and just won't let go!
Monochrome247@reddit
I may be the exception that proves the rule but I've never had an issue spend Scottish notes south of the wall. In fact, when we still had £1 notes when England had stopped, I had people offering above face value for them in London.
Consistent-Sand-3618@reddit
Because English young people have never seen them and they don't understand what it is. Shops don't train for that stuff anymore. Mature people that refuse are always weird Scot haters or just stupid
_debowsky@reddit
I’ve never had issues with Scottish notes until recently and that’s the explanation I was given by the lady down at the post office.
Most places can now easily recognise fake English notes and so people started counterfeiting Scottish ones with which most people are not fully familiar with and so most shops prefer to not chance it.
Worldly_Option_2216@reddit
That's exactly what our local post office said and as we do banking there for my work and they refused to take them so we had to stop taking them from customers.
_debowsky@reddit
I hold onto them (I usually don’t have many) and try to spend them, many people do still take them.
Sparki77@reddit
No training on valid usable currency, been like it for years.
brookoliver@reddit
I refuse Clydesdale, feigning ignorance regarding the currency but knowing the exact type of English person that uses that bank.
Slapedd1953@reddit
In my pub I happily accepted any Scottish note, also the odd Channel Islands and a weird NI Dansk bank one. The bank readily took them off me.
sf-keto@reddit
Good man!
Hawkstreamer@reddit
Ignorance
DangerousDisplay7664@reddit
I think it’s maybe because they don’t see them very often so are bad at spotting fakes.
Either_Reality3687@reddit
I used to see the odd scottish £5.00 note from time to time. I haven't seen one in years though.
Hammering1@reddit
Wait till you try to exchange Scottish banknotes at a foreign bureau de change. Far lower rate than the Bank of England notes.
xxspookshowbabyxx@reddit
From what I understand they're less common so immediately ring forgery alarm bells, but also they aren't as simple to deposit as just handing them in like Bank of England notes? From what I remember of last time I saw this come up, some banks in England charge fees to forward Scottish notes back to Scotland, unsure how accurate this is though.
BeaumarchaisApu@reddit
Put them in the cash self-service checkouts at supermarkets.
Y-Bob@reddit
Many of them won't accept them.
I found this out the anything way. A tad embarrassing at the time.
CakeCatsClay@reddit
Yeah, I had the self-service checkouts at Tesco, Sainsbury's and Lidl puke them out again with the chap at Tesco's looking at me as if I was trying to pay with a turd when I asked him about it. Went to the tills the next time I was at Aldi and they had to call a supervisor. Really didn't think it'd be that hard when I accepted it.
Ok-Berry-7654@reddit
I did this with a bunch of Gibraltar pound coins once that a few people were funny about accepting.
Thats_my_nirnroot@reddit
Officially, no idea?
But speaking as an Englishman, there is a severe.lack of awareness..
I was completely unaware of Scottish notes, until working my first job as a 15 y/o at the local garden centre, only for a random customer to present Scottish notes!
I was genuinely baffled, and had to get my manager involved.
Ok_Attitude55@reddit
Too many different looking notes basically. You have England and Wales with Sixty million people having notes only issued by 1 bank. 1 tenner to recognise.
In Scotland you have 5.5 million people with 4 banks issuing notes (including BoE).
In Northern Ireland you have 2 million people with 4 banks issuing notes (including BoE).
6 additional tenners to keep track of. For 12% of the population. The vast majority of which is never used outside Scotland/NI.
If Scotland and NI only had 1 issuing bank each it probably wouldn't be an issue.
To make thing worse the retail (non BoE) notes are taken out of circulation differently. Different ones are in circulation at the same time and when withdrawn it happens through banking. You get the situation where an out of date note will only be honoured by the issuing bank. Which is fine in the issuing country, but awkward in England.
OverlyAdorable@reddit
I was told last week that there are a few fake Scottish £20s going around. I'm not accusing anyone, I'm just saying it could be a factor. I live in Cornwall and you can count on one hand how many Scottish notes I see in a year (still more than NI notes). I can kinda get Cornwall being a bit unsure, I mean, we're 600 odd miles away, you can't get further away from Scotland without changing currency
Dense_Bad3146@reddit
There’s a notice in my local chemist saying they no longer accept them, because there is a lot of forgery’s around.
robgriff69@reddit
"I think you'll find that's legal tender" In best Scottish accent
spikewilliams2@reddit
In with obligatory "legal tender only applies to debts".
robgriff69@reddit
So you're saying i can't buy a bus ticket with 1st class stamps
spikewilliams2@reddit
Well they aren't legal tender, and have no value printed on them like the used to. Also a bus ticket is not a debt.
Ok-Berry-7654@reddit
“A postage stamp is legal tender. A bus driver would have to accept that as currency. If he doesn’t, report him.”
Garbidb63@reddit
They are legal tender.
Ok-Berry-7654@reddit
They aren’t. But legal tender doesn’t mean what people generally seem to think it means when they say this anyway.
10133R@reddit
yeah they wouldn't take my welsh 15 pound note either!
Alternative_Way_2700@reddit
We always accepted them (3 leisure venues and one retail), new staff would give them a bit of a look but for those of us who had been there longer, it was absolutely fine.
I'm in Suffolk, very close to the Essex border.
Salty-Value8837@reddit
After reading some comments I can see l'm not the only one that has an issue with currency sometimes. Every time l have been in the US the shops and restaurants have no idea what to do with Canadian money. I have had some laugh because they had never seen coloured money.
Veenkoira00@reddit
The answer is "nothing". Not all staff are familiar with them – they normally call their supervisor/manager to have look. I have never seen or experienced the initial doubt to stand as refusal.
Alicam123@reddit
It’s because they are only taught what a British note looks like even though it is legal tender, sometimes it’s a hassle explaining this to cashiers, best bet is to goto a post office or a bank.
WDW1997@reddit
"AH THINK YE'LL FIND PAL, THAAAAAT'S LEGEL TENDER"
the_Athereon@reddit
Same reason behind why £50 notes aren't accepted. They're RARE.
It's hard to spot if a note is real or not if you don't see them every day. So as a precaution, they just refuse them outright.
Derezzed87@reddit
Rare? I saw 3 at work today alone.
JohnnySchoolman@reddit
You people are still using notes? Must be criminals.
NoMortgage3467@reddit
Cash is King.
CNRADMSN@reddit
S&P 500 is king
thereidenator@reddit
Wait until you hear about the Scottish £100 notes
meatflaps-69@reddit
RARE? Scotland is absolutely hoachin wi them.
Extreme-Composer8452@reddit
Hoachin wi fan dan a naw
the_Athereon@reddit
South of Newcastle, you really don't see Scottish notes in England.
meatflaps-69@reddit
Any self service till takes em if you need an easy way to be rid of them.
the_Athereon@reddit
Oh, yes, there is that.
frankbowles1962@reddit
They just aren’t familiar with them, just as we baulk at NI notes in Scotland
New_Contribution7094@reddit (OP)
I didn’t know they can legally refuse to accept it. But I went back again to a different cashier and this time it was “ we can only accept 1 £20 Scottish note per transaction” ! 😄
Most-Sport5264@reddit
Shops can legally refuse ANYTHING. They can insist you pay in roubles, bottle caps, bit coin, or Pokemon cards if they want to. It depends on the company policy.
JordanTonyMann@reddit
You can legally refuse to accept any notes in the UK, English included.
Most-Sport5264@reddit
The shop staff (almost all minimum-wage-from-the-day-they-leave-school-till-the-day-they-retire jobs) are not used to jock 20s so dont know what they are supposed to look like, meaning there is a higher chance of accepting a fake.
Careful-Coffee280@reddit
I live in Scotland, my brother lives in England and I had the same issue. So I looked it up and Scottish pound notes are not considered legal tender in England. They are recognised legal currency but not legal tender which means people aren't legally bound to accept them.
So the average person in England never sees them and are scared of fakes, other customers won't accept them as change - so shops have to take them to the bank. It's easier for them not to accept them, and I've found that policy is more common now that most people use cards and contactless. They hardly see English notes now, let alone Scottish ones! 20 years ago you would say "it's all I have" and they might accept it, but now they think "you have cards, you have a phone".
Tbh 20-30 years ago more people recognised the Scottish banknote in England, it was more common to be accepted than not, but now it's the other way round.
dieselbiscuit@reddit
Even if they were legal tender, the concept of legal tender only applies to methods of paying an existing debt. There's nothing obliging a shop to accept any specific form of cash (or even to accept cash at all) in return for the goods they are selling, because there isn't an existing debt.
Careful-Coffee280@reddit
Fair comment. Thanks for this.
Lanthanidedeposit@reddit
Until recently I rarely had a problem, but now it seems to be an issue. Get told it's counterfeiting.
So that's OK then - its alright for us to use "dodgy" money.
It's stupidity and ignorance of course.
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
People are unfamiliar with them so can’t be comfortable that they’re real. I’m surprised you can’t get that.
pharmamess@reddit
Not everyone is as smart as you.
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
And I’m really not smart so that says something.
pharmamess@reddit
I don't agree. You have an extraordinary intellect.
Jumpy_Storm_2093@reddit
From experience working in London around money, my colleagues nearly always argued with customers about Scottish notes. When they asked me, I would say, yes Scottish notes are valid. Then, they would watch the machine take said money, without issue. There's a lot who just don't keep up to date with valid notes for the UK. Is annoying unfortunately. It is worth noting every self serve machine type, should be set to accept all current UK bank notes, around the land. 😊
Nicky2512@reddit
A lot of counterfeits in circulation apparently
MostlyBoatsandBikes@reddit
They’re worth less….
Ok_Aardvark_1203@reddit
Was at borough market buying some chillis when I realised I only had Scottish money. Was all set for my "legal tender" moment when the guy happily took it & was gushing over the otters. Turns out they get loads of Scottish notes. So it's just familiarity.
perplexedtv@reddit
Why do they have different sets of banknotes in the UK? Pointless hassle
H4nnib4lLectern@reddit
THATS LEGAL TENDERRR
Efficient_Hyena_7476@reddit
It's weird. I only use cash when in Scotland, so I rarely see English banknotes.
Loose_Measurement_50@reddit
Why will you Scots not accept notes from NI?
Equal-Competition930@reddit
I used volunteer in charity shop years and we got alot of customers trying to use scottish notes and we never accepted them . I think fraud protection because we checked all notes with a special pen which use a light to check all notes . This was years before new notes came about but imagine similar circumstances apply in this case . My best advice is to take to bank and change them.
McLeod3577@reddit
I work in retail. Over 30 years, I've seen Scottish notes about 4 or 5 times. Training is given on detecting fake English notes, but not Scottish. When notes go out of date in England, most people are aware of when the final date they can be accepted, and the final date they can be banked (this hasn't happened for a few years now), but I wouldn't have a clue about Scottish notes.
Firm-Statistician772@reddit
The English don’t accept our STIRLING notes either. So frustrating. I’m in NI
Sarah-is-always-sad9@reddit
In the charity shop i volunteer at we just don't accept them because its a hassle transferring it into a normal note
Eskarina_W@reddit
I used to travel to Scotland a few times a year. If I came back with Scottish notes, I generally used them in self checkouts.
Shazpless66@reddit
They’re legal tender, but as others have said, they don’t look ‘right’ so think they’re fakes, because they don’t see them very often.
I’m in Bristol. I had a Scottish note which I used to buy burgers as a takeaway, a long time back. The guy tried to refuse it, but I convinced him it was legal. He tried to pass it off in someone else’s change, but that customer refused to take it.
Scottish and NI notes actually say on them that they’re sterling. English ones don’t, funnily enough!
MarkWrenn74@reddit
To slightly rework an old saying:
UNarbs@reddit
Honestly, when I worked in retail I used to prefer having all cash on the self service tills so that way I wouldn’t have to mess around counting change and checking notes.
I used to work on the weekends exclusively on my own and would fill the self service till to the brim with change to allow people to pay with what they wanted when they wanted without me having to do the “have you got owt smaller?” or “Have you got the 7p?” lines LMAO
gingerbread85@reddit
Self service checkouts are your friend.
nomadic_weeb@reddit
There's the issue of recognisability, bit also the fact that it isn't legal tender, despite what Scots might claim
Mysterious_Bug_8407@reddit
Everytime I've seen a Scottish note rejected in our company nobody has ever gone the stereotype Scot. They have always just accepted it with grace. I suspect the angry "It's legal tender" is just a comedy trope that gets repeated
I_ALWAYS_UPVOTE_CATS@reddit
And the fact that 'legal tender' has no meaning when it comes to paying for stuff in a shop.
nomadic_weeb@reddit
Yeah, that's also true
SubTeamLeader@reddit
They don't have to accept them. In England they're legal currency but not legal tender. They're often accepted because they have the exact same value as an English pound and - because they're legal currency - they can be banked but they're not obliged to accept them.
Then again, they're dicks if they don't.
peahair@reddit
There are fake £20 RBS notes circulating.
CraftingP291@reddit
It's probably that they don't see them often enough to distinguish between a fake, and the genuine article. Also, a lot if younger people may not even realise that Scotland has its own currency, and that it's still 'legal tender'. You can't really expect a younger person to risk their job on something they're not aware of.
LAUK_In_The_North@reddit
Scottish Notes aren't legal tender, even in Scotland. Legal tender does not mean what people commonly think it means.
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/what-is-legal-tender
Mysterious_Bug_8407@reddit
Calm down, nobody hates Scottish notes, it's just risk management. Our company won't accept Scottish or NI notes or any £50 notes. There are a lot of fakes and we get often scammed by a particular demographic so we won't take the risk. In the normal course of business staff will see maybe 1 or 2 Scottish notes a year so have no idea what they look like or are even aware that they exist. Ironically we are more likely to get fake £20s than anything else but they are much, much easier to spot obviously
If we were further North and were used to them it would probably be different.
butty_a@reddit
In the same way they don't have to accept US Dollars, in short, they don't have to. They are not legal tender, but businesses can exchange them (and Dollars) at some banks, but again, banks south of the border don't have to accept them.
So it isn't about hate, it is about the note's lack of legal standing.
c0r3l86@reddit
I would only accept one from someone wearing a kilt, eating haggis and playing the bagpipes.
Crazy_Breakfast_6327@reddit
Usually, it's ignorance and fear of the unknown. All staff handling money ought to be trained in what's legal and real.
Incident-Putrid@reddit
Just spent an Irish £20 this week no issue.
Alone-Firefighter283@reddit
My Scottish grandma used to send me notes and it was never a problem but now hardly anywhere nowhere accepts them
Successful-Special76@reddit
My friend tried to change Scottish notes in Germany into Euros. There was a different rate for Scottish notes than English notes. We tried explaining they were both pound sterling but they were having none of it 🤷♀️
m1bnk@reddit
Lack of familiarity, previous problems with fakes (especially 20s), cashiers being held responsible for accepting fake notes, customer's reluctance to accept them in change
Seems worst for me in NE England than further South, I just use them in the self service checkouts which always accepting them - ymmv
Superb-Ad-8823@reddit
I have had Scottish notes refused in pubs but when you tell them you have nothing else they take the money.
Middle--Earth@reddit
Because they look like fakes!
English people don't see enough of them to know that they are genuine. 🤷♀️
IrishFlukey@reddit
Same with Northern Ireland notes. The not very United Kingdom does not accept its own currency.
Qwerty_mo-fu@reddit
We accept them at my business in Somerset, but I make my staff get me to check them first as I know what they look like. Same as isle of Mann, Gibraltar, channel island currency - I collect coins so I’m happy to take them.
In general, we don’t see enough of them for my staff to become familiar with. And usually they are brought down by yanks
Superb-Ad-8823@reddit
I think they have to bank then separately or chose too.
TheRavingDinosaur@reddit
Because they don't see them often enough to be able to tell if they're real or fake
Due-Resort-2699@reddit
It worked out well for me in Blackpool years ago. Only had Scottish notes and the driver said he couldn’t take them so he let me on for free. Nice guy.
Depress-Mode@reddit
In England cash handling employees are usually only trained on the anti-forgery measures present on BoE notes. 4 notes.
It’s rare for places to train on all 39 UK bank notes.
FishUK_Harp@reddit
A total lack of familiarity with them. Same story with Bank of England £50 notes.
In England, if a member of staff has a short till (such as by taking a fake note) their employer can dock their wages to make up the difference as long as they aren't pushed below minimum wage. There's a real financial risk to taking a note that might be fake, and if you're unfamiliar with them you can't as easily spot a fake.
Gorf1@reddit
They can’t dock wages unless it says so in your contract of employment. Even then, they can’t dock wages if the cause is ambiguous, e.g a shared till.
DumCrescoSpero@reddit
I've never seen a Scottish note, so if I was still bartending or working as a cashier I wouldn't be confident enough to be able to spot whether or not it was counterfeit.
MsPB01@reddit
A lot of the time, they think they're like Irish (non-Sterling) notes. I know the tells, and have swapped them in shops before - I normally then give them to my mother for her next trip to visit family in the Glasgow area
MaxBonso@reddit
Cos we hate the scotch
gerrycab11@reddit
Blackpool love them, the more the merrier.🎢🎡🎠
Prudent_Butterfly940@reddit
If we took a Scottish note in our shop we couldn't give it to a customer as they'd refuse - no one would take it from them. So the note goes in the safe until we can get to a bank to cash it in. As we don't give to the bank often it could stay there for months and it always throws the count off.
BG3restart@reddit
If I come back from Scotland with Scottish notes, I just pay them in at the bank. It's just not worth the aggravation. I always mean to get cash out before I go, but sometimes I forget and go when I'm there, then always sigh when the cash point spews it out.
Puzzled_Record_3611@reddit
I hope you told them, "its legal tender!" as is required by law in this situation.
Tetsuo1981@reddit
Mis-educationa and lack of knowledge.
Electronic-Stay-2369@reddit
We used to take Scottish and Northern Irish notes, although it wasn't my problem to shift them through the bank. But it does all look a bit like toy money (ie its got pretty pictures on it) so it is had for a shop to tell if its real. And technically it isn't legal tender anywhere.
kiradotee@reddit
Shambles. Obligatory [legal tender] (https://youtu.be/yYAjshQA2ms) reference.
992234177@reddit
I used to work in a petrol station and I produced a little file showing staff what all the notes from all issuing authorities looked like. There are so many.
resting_up@reddit
The problem is that they can be hard to spend because lots of places won't accept the. Because they're unfamiliar there's no way of spotting a fake.
Wise_Wolf_6589@reddit
Same as £50 notes legal tender in England but no one will take them ! what’s the point of circulating these notes if no one will take them!
joemorl97@reddit
Going to the wrong shops, come to me I’ll gladly accept them and 50 notes not my money not my problem
sometimes_point@reddit
This has always been an issue, but it's even more of one now that people don't cash much anymore. Less than, or around, a decade ago, the notes were all replaced by the new plastic ones, and i think even more than before, shops south of the border decided it wasn't worth their time to learn how to spot a fake.
With the old paper ones I never had trouble in transport hubs or bigger shops, but I remember things like automatic tills not taking Scottish notes in England even when the same shop in Scotland would take them.
Once upon a time i worked in a petrol station in England, and i was trained on recognizing fake Scottish notes. Being Scottish i knew what they looked like anyway. I do remember a bit of oddness where I had to drop them in the safe separately from English notes and they would be banked separately too. I'd accept Northern Irish notes too but only saw them like once.
brushfuse@reddit
My 9 bob Scottish Royal Bank of Salmon is always turned down. Finally offloaded it on a minicab driver. I bet he felt like a right dunderhead.
alex21dragons@reddit
Here's a wild idea: one set of bank notes for the whole of the UK. Seems to work quite well in the USA.
New_Line4049@reddit
Theyre not seen often enough in England so checkout staff dont recognise genuine vs fake easily, and as that as an easily exploitable blindspot management create a ban on Scottish notes to avoid that issue. Theyre well within their rights to dictate what forms of payment are accepted, they could insist on payment in jelly beans if they wanted. You are of course entirely within your rights to decide weather to do buisness eith them under those terms or not.
thereidenator@reddit
Lots of comments about £50 notes in here, but I bet not many people have heard of a £100 note. When I worked in Tesco they were a fucking nightmare because our policy was to accept them but our banking system didn’t have a line for them.
Cardabella@reddit
Ignorance
Reasonable-Key9235@reddit
It’s something I don’t understand. I’m from Brighton, we often saw Scottish notes being used. I ran a bar for 7 years and always accepted them. It was around my last year I was informed by the bank not to accept them any more. Never found out why
IkeTurn@reddit
ExpectedBehaviour@reddit
Because contrary to popular belief Scottish banknotes aren't legal tender. Not even in Scotland.
Paul2377@reddit
I remember my first Saturday job on the checkouts in Sainsbury’s and a Scottish lady wanted to pay with Scottish notes.
I didn’t refuse but I called my supervisor just to check it was OK to accept them as they didn’t mention them in my training.
The whole time it took for the supervisor to come the customer kept ranting at me that Scottish notes were legal tender and that I couldn’t refuse them. She wasn’t happy at all!
Of course once my supervisor arrived she told me it was fine to accept them and the customer started on a “I told you so” diatribe. I don’t miss that job. 😆
GarethGazzGravey@reddit
In a retail job I had 20 years ago, I was told I was told the same, that we could accept Scottish notes, with the added twist being because they had the word "sterling" written on them. I never actually came across such a note whilst on that job, which was kind of disappointing, but knowing the issues they cause, I'm also glad I didn't
Toc13s@reddit
Yeah, notes with Sterling on them are generally accepted whereas ones without tend not to be.
It might be down to the issuing bank
OkCap2870@reddit
It's quite possibly down to being able to accept Scottish and Northern Irish bank notes but not ones for example from Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Mann. Although it looks like while retailers won't generally accept them you can still deposit them directly into your bank account at a one to one ratio.
Paul2377@reddit
Yeah I was given one in my change a few years ago and I didn't realise till afterwards. So I made sure I spent it in a large chain store as I think those are the only shops in England you can be sure will accept them.
spikewilliams2@reddit
Legal tender only applies to debts.
self-conscious_s@reddit
It's because we don't like the Scottish and vice versa 😂
lunaliquorice@reddit
Unfortunately, I work in a betting shop that refuses them too. I was explicitly told by my manager that we arent allowed to take them (a lie, because ive worked for the company longer than him in multiple different areas and have accepted them before). Theyre fairly easy to fake, and because of that people are nervous to accept them. Take them into a bank and ask for them to change them for English notes is my only advice
BlackberryNice1270@reddit
Because they're not familiar enough with them to be able to tell if they're fakes.
Boldboy72@reddit
they don't hate them, they just don't see them very often and most people don't realise that they are GBP.
TSotP@reddit
For the same reason that people would balk if you tried to use a N.Ire note in Scotland.
It's because they are unfamiliar with the notes, so it makes it harder to tell if they are fake or not.
If you don't know what a real BoS tenner looks like, you sure as hell won't know what a fake one looks like.
HardAtWorkISwear@reddit
As others have said, it's the lack of familiarity that drives the mistrust of them, the same as it does for a £50 note. I just wanted to chime in and say I remember when I worked in a nightclub in 2009 that we used to have a lady who came in regularly, and always with a different guy. She always paid for the drinks, always in cash and ALWAYS with a wad of £50 notes.
I don't think it was ever confirmed, but we heavily suspected the wad of 50s were from the guy of the evening for her time.
It always surprised me how much bigger the £50 notes are than the £20s.
sunofdork@reddit
Not trained on them.
Willing-Confusion-56@reddit
I love it when some absolute hole tries the "you have to take it, it's LeGaL tEnDeR" argument. No luv, that's not the way it works.
TheDisapprovingBrit@reddit
The fun part is that Scottish notes are not, in fact, legal tender.
ReinforcedTube@reddit
They're not even legal tender in Scotland. Neither are Bank of England notes.
pheonix8388@reddit
They also aren't legal tender! So not only do they not understand their own argument, they are wrong!
EngineersAnon@reddit
For those wondering, legal tender means that the government must accept it, and that unless there is a contract stating otherwise, it is an acceptable payment for a debt.
CopyInternational177@reddit
Coz jeets ain’t got a scooby doo & most shop workers are jeets down here
Hardtack_dev@reddit
Reminds me of a Tesco self checkout that was happy to give me an Irish fiver but not happy to take it back... Bloomin cheek of it
Justan0therthrow4way@reddit
Because they can’t give them back as change. It’s stupid.
illarionds@reddit
Businesses are under no obligation to accept them, and staff aren't generally familiar with them - so it's hard to be confident they're not fake.
8BitPleb@reddit
Work in Leeds, see them loads, have no problem accepting them. I even relish seeing them! They're much better designs than the English notes. I think we should replace all dead aristocrats on notes with lovely examples of British countryside and wildlife.
Fluffy-Inside-4191@reddit
Hey darling, how was work today?
Oh it was brilliant, someone paid with a Scottish fiver.
durhamdale@reddit
Huge problem up here near the border with fake notes of all denominations
hawkeneye1998bs@reddit
Its weird that Scottish notes are accepted all over the UK but Jersey and Guernsey ones aren't despite being the same value
myblackandwhitecat@reddit
Sometimes I have been given a Scottish note in change, but have alwyas handed it back and asked them to exchange it, as some places won't accept them.
cakesforever@reddit
Because they are arseholes. It's legal tender.
Uncle_Zardoz@reddit
Staff members being thick as mince, usually.
Prestigious_Bat2666@reddit
No we're mostly told not to accept them
Uncle_Zardoz@reddit
Well shit... my first-even job, thirty-something years ago, we were told on our first day that they were legal tended. By some manager at a Tesco.
smoulderstoat@reddit
He was talking spherical objects. They're not even legal tender in Scotland, and that's not what legal tender means anyway.
vzzzbxt@reddit
They're not legal tender in England, but that's beside the point. People can choose to accept or refuse any currency they like, unless it's to repay a debt
redandbluebadness@reddit
It's because they are unfamiliar and therefore harder for the cashier to judge as to whether they are real or fake. It is nothing to do with 'hating' Scottish notes.
headline-pottery@reddit
Same reason you cannot spend NI notes easily in Scotland.
That-Bid-4943@reddit
I remember a few years back, my Scottish family visited us down here, and they all gave me a tenner each. I was so grateful but I knew that no shops would accept it and would look at me with two heads for even handing it to them, but they were adamant that places accept them but I just keep them in my money jar and will use it when I eventually go and visit them there again. It is ridiculous that places don’t accept them, I get it doesn’t look like a pound note, like the ones here, but I swear they’re legal tender 🤷🏻♀️
MikeFader@reddit
It used to be a well known fact that there are no real, proper banks north of Potters Bar (apparently).
TemporaryLucky3637@reddit
If you go into a bank they’ll change them for you. It’s nothing that deep it’s just English staff who don’t see them often can’t identify fake notes as easily.
darkarcher9210@reddit
Probably because it looks like monopoly money
mralistair@reddit
every time i go home to scotland I marvel at the new nonsense they've printed.. it looks like they are trying not to make it look like real money
f8rter@reddit
People are unfamiliar with them, simple as that.
Why do Scottish people take cash to England ? Is it so they can post nonsense like this?
SwissMiss61@reddit
We had them a lot in Blackpool in a shop I owned. I didn't mind accepting them but I could never get rid of them because nobody wanted them as change. So often have to lock the shop but I've run to the bank and change them. Bit annoying.
Hippadoppaloppa@reddit
Shops don't have to accept them if they don't want to. I get a lot of Scottish notes from an elderly relative and I pay them directly into my bank account via the self service machine, to save hassle!
mralistair@reddit
because they've never seen them before and have no reliable way to spot a fake.
it's not that hard to understand is it?
Short-Shopping3197@reddit
There was a time since passed that forged Scottish bank notes were easier to pass off due to unfamiliarity, leading to a high number of forgeries. Nowadays they use the same security features as English notes, but the idea has persisted.
£50s are actually the most forged note and staff are unfamiliar with them making them easier to pass off, this and issues with till change is why stores often don’t take them.
FiresidePete@reddit
In England we use English currency you are just being bloody minded. We dont take dollars euros either jock. Your notes with sturgeons face on them turns our stomschs.
Xenozip3371Alpha@reddit
When I got a scottish £5 note, I just used it in the same shop I got it from, if they tried to claim it's fake I'd say I got it from them.
Cariad_rae@reddit
That's legal tender right there!
EvilRobotSteve@reddit
When I used to work retail we were told not to take them. To be honest I think it's just easier to do that than to train the staff how to spot fakes because you very rarely see them.
Maleficent-Purple403@reddit
Decades back I worked in Virgin Megastore and our department manager explicitly told us not to accept NI notes - for that very reason: that we wouldn't be able to spot fakes due to their rarity. It kind of pissed me off as my auntie lived in Belfast so I had seen loads of NI notes, but there it is; not as much as it pissed off Northern Irish people though to be fair...
RadiantTown9154@reddit
Scottish notes and £50 notes are a mare here, my hubby is a chef, tips get paid in cash - co-op is the only place that I’ve never had an issue taking either a £50 or a Scottish note
OrganisedDanger@reddit
I don't think it's necessarily the money that they hate....
Dogsafe@reddit
Because the staff don't see them often enough to know if they're fake.
Because their line manager doesn't see them often enough to know if they're fake either and might make life difficult for accepting them.
Because if you're a small business (not B&M) and your cash drawer is also the business' petty cash and your pay packet, you don't know that any other business is going to accept them and you'll need to take them to a bank to make them useful.
Sad_Firefighter_8407@reddit
Where in the country are you?
G7VFY@reddit
Ignorance, mostly.
qualityvote2@reddit
Hello u/New_Contribution7094! Welcome to r/AskABrit!
For other users, does this post fit the subreddit?
If so, upvote this comment!
Otherwise, downvote this comment!
And if it does break the rules, downvote this comment and report this post!