Taking £50 & Non English Notes

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Possibly more aimed at those of us south of the border, but I get fed up with retailers and venues saying that they will not accept £50 notes or Scottish/NI notes.

I understand the historic risk of taking nifties, but the new notes have reduced counterfeiting dramatically (not eradicated, though).

As for our neighbours' ones, this is ridiculous!

Any legislation to stop this?

What do you think?

BTW I do not tend to have a wad of fifties, but I do get them in some of my businesses.

 

[RandyMarsh]

There's a common scam with £50 notes in shops where someone buys a cheap item with a genuine £50 note, makes a fuss about the price or quality and loudly demands a refund. They count out the (say) £46 they owe you and give it and the item back in exchange for the £50 note. But, they slip one of the £20 notes away while they di it so you only get £26 back and the scammer walks away £20 richer. For this reason alone, we don't accept £50 notes.
We do accept Scottish and Northern Irish notes but the problem with them is that we see them so rarely that it is hard to distinguish forgeries. When you are used to English money you get a feel for the notes and they all look the same in the cash drawer so forgeries may get noticed. Also, there are several versions of Scottish notes and you can't spend them so they are useless until you can take them to the bank.

 

[japancool]

Any legislation to stop this?

Nobody is required to accept any note or form of coinage other than for court debts.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Scottish notes aren't legal tender- even in Scotland, they are classed as promissory notes or 'permitted tender'. As such, there is no obligation to accept them

 

[fisicx]

Worth a read:

What is legal tender?

Many people are confused about what legal tender means. It’s actually about settling debts rather than how you can pay for things.

www.bankofengland.co.uk

Nobody is required to accept those £50 notes if they don't want to.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Clarified here.

What is legal tender?

Many people are confused about what legal tender means. It’s actually about settling debts rather than how you can pay for things.

www.bankofengland.co.uk

 

[Mark T Jones]

Nobody is required to accept any note or form of coinage other than for court debts.

Not strictly true.

A vendor can decline to enter into the transaction based on the payment means - even if it is legal tender - but they can't sue you for non-payment if you offer legal tender.

 

[DontAsk]

There's a common scam with £50 notes in shops where someone buys a cheap item with a genuine £50 note, makes a fuss about the price or quality and loudly demands a refund. They count out the (say) £46 they owe you and give it and the item back in exchange for the £50 note. But, they slip one of the £20 notes away while they di it so you only get £26 back and the scammer walks away £20 richer. For this reason alone, we don't accept £50 notes.

That's an easy one. Check the money yourself before handing over the £50.

I would be more woried about them passing fake £20s in that scenario,

 

[japancool]

I wonder how often you get Scottish retailers refusing to accept filthy Sassenach notes.

 

[MikeJ]

I wonder how often you get Scottish retailers refusing to accept filthy Sassenach notes.

Having lived in Scotland for 25 years, I can say "never". To be honest, it's pretty rare for people to turn down Scottish notes now.

 

[WaveJumper]

Its nice to know some people are still using cash

 

[Wenlock]

I'm surprised £50 notes aren't commonplace nowadays.
When the holiday money turns up, it's normally full of 50 and 100 Euro notes. Never seems to be a problem spending them abroad.
The £20 note has been widely used for a rather long time now. With inflation over the years (and I'm sure someone mentioned it's running quite high at the moment), the £50 notes should be flying out the cash machines now.
I remember the joy of getting one at Christmas as a teenager, to hold and look at as much as to spend, but perhaps today's teenagers would need a couple for the same effect - it's really not a lot of money anymore (ok, it should still be for a teenager).
I still like to carry and pay with cash alongside the card. Perhaps I'll ask for some £50s next time I'm in the bank and see how I get on. Last time I asked, they didn't have any.

 

[japancool]

The £20 note has been widely used for a rather long time now. With inflation over the years (and I'm sure someone mentioned it's running quite high at the moment), the £50 notes should be flying out the cash machines now.
I remember the joy of getting one at Christmas as a teenager, to hold and look at as much as to spend, but perhaps today's teenagers would need a couple for the same effect - it's really not a lot of money anymore (ok, it should still be for a teenager).

Very few people of that age use cash any more, and the only places where cash might be necessary tend to sell lower value items for which £20 notes are more than sufficient.

The kids would probably prefer to get Netflix or Steam gift cards

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Scottish notes aren't legal tender- even in Scotland,

Really?

 

[Mark T Jones]

Really?

Yip.

From my BOE link above

This page was last updated on 30 January 2020
English banknotes aren’t legal tender in Scotland. Scottish notes aren’t legal tender in England or Scotland. Debit cards, cheques and contactless aren’t legal tender anywhere. Confused? Let us help you out.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Wow!

 

[Drax35]

My current business is online only - it's a pleasure not having to deal with cash anymore!

In my previous business, 50s I didn't have a problem with but did refuse to accept Scottish/NI notes. Not a perfect solution, but the only way to kill the risk of accepting forgeries.

We did train staff on what to look for, but there were always those that didn't care or could be swayed by the confidence of the "customer". The vast majority of forgeries in our area for many years were Scottish notes. The easiest option for everyone was a clear policy not to accept.

Not a policy I was ever personally in favour of, but the only sensible one for our business.

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

A customer gave me a Scottish £20 the other day. I keep it on my desk, it's a lovely thing to look at. So much prettier than the English notes.

 

[IanSuth]

My daughter worked behind the bar in a tradesman's pub - they couldn't afford to not take 50's as a lot of tradesman are still paid cash (the same scaffolders came in every Friday for instance), despite being a Stonegate pub with theoretically standardised procedures - they had morphed to "we will only take £50's if the manager is there and personally checks them"

That worked for all as his regulars knew and he was in a position to take the flak if they had got a dodgy one - they did the same with Scots notes but they are rare in Berkshire