I have no idea if I Scottish note is genuine or not and people get all uppity if I refuse them.
What’s the deal?

It is legal tender, but a shop can refuse to accept any note they are unsure of, or refuse to sell to anyone they wish (as long as they are not breaking discrimination laws).

It’s entirely up to you, your business, your premises, your rules. You’re under no legal obligation to sell anything to anyone. saying that, just buy a false money detector pen and/or a UV note checker.

no, they are not ‘legal tender’

Scottish notes are not legal tender, not even in Scotland.

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/about/faqs.aspx#16

edit – too slow to check my facts!

Of course they have to take it, it’s sterling, by law they must take it. It’s only ignorance that stops them.

I usually accept the product and leave it up to the vender as to whether he/she want’s to take my Scottish notes, or whether they prefer nothing.

this should clear it up nicely . . .

We already refuse £50 notes so I guess we can refuse foreign notes.

Nobeerinthefridge – Member
Of course they have to take it, it’s sterling, by law they must take it. It’s only ignorance that stops them.

amazing how wrong you are

The corollary is that here in Scotland I don’t have to accept English banknotes 😉

Why do some atm’s hand out English notes in Scotland!?

Of course they have to take it, it’s sterling, by law they must take it. It’s only ignorance that stops them.

Err no. They can choose, or not choose to take whatever they like.
You can walk into a shop and try and buy something with say one thousand 1p coins and they’re quite within their rights to refuse you. Likewise they can choose to accept Euros, shiny pebbles or sea shells in exchange for goods. You offer them something, they give you something in return for that offering. That’s pretty much all a shop does.

The corollary is that here in Scotland I don’t have to accept English banknotes

Exactly 😀

Legal tender doesn’t mean anything in this context. No the don’t have to accept them if they don’t want to. They don’t have to accept bank if England notes if the don’t want to as you aren’t settling a debt.

Why do some atm’s hand out English notes in Scotland!?

What’s the first thing that crosses your mind when your read ‘ATM’?

8)

I was informed here recently that Scottish notes are not legal tender, even in Scotland. Later confirmed by internet search. You learn something every day.

Why would you not take them?

Really are you that much of a xenophobic freak, I work behind a bar part time and I’m more than happy taking them.

If it’s a choice of taking cash or sending a customer away you’d have to be a blithering mongtard to say no surely?

To the OP – I can see that if you only come across them occasionally, it might be difficult to work out whether or not they are genuine.

However, in all the times I’ve shopped, paid bar bills etc in England (and I lived there for two years), I have NEVER been turned away for having Scottish notes.

There’s 3 different sets of Scottish bank notes ( I think) we have no way of knowing what’s good or not.
The recent £50 forgeries are extremely difficult to detect.
When you have dodgy people buying a £1.99 card with a £20 note as a retailer alarm bells start to ring.
There’s nothing like the bank taking your money away saying they are forgeries to ruin your day.

The ATMs round here give out £20s and £10s. What would be a justifiable purchase to make breaking a £20 acceptable to you?

I would not have thought someone breaking a £20 on a £1.99 card would be out of the ordinary. I have found no real problems spending Scottish money in England although it does often get held up to the light. I can understand as cashiers may see few of them. I used to work behind the till in Scotland and I often did the same with Bank of Ulster notes.

The ATMs round here give out £20s and £10s. What would be a justifiable purchase to make breaking a £20 acceptable to you?

Pah spot the I live a posh area man. 😉

Due to the numerous students nearby ours dishes out £5 notes.

Of course they have to take it, it’s sterling, by law they must take it. It’s only ignorance that stops them.

Really are you that much of a xenophobic freak, I work behind a bar part time and I’m more than happy taking them.

Your boss must be ecstatic with your liberal view on exchange of goods for cash… Baring in mind the way criminals specifically target currencies in limited circulation you’re the best kind of target. Where do you work again?

The difference is Raoul is that being a Northern boy they’re not rare/new to you, I’ve had issues in Wales when handing them over but around here no one batters an eye.

However, in all the times I’ve shopped, paid bar bills etc in England (and I lived there for two years), I have NEVER been turned away for having Scottish notes.

Conversely…

On holiday in Cornwall several years ago we stopped at a pub for lunch and a few drinks. The barman suggested we start a tab and he kept a credit card behind the counter – fine, I thought. And then we came to pay and he informed that they don’t take cards – cash only. Fine, here’s more than enough in cash… Scottish notes.

I don’t often lose my rag in public… in this instance Cornwall bore witness to a large-ish semi-Scotsman losing his in style!

👿

The difference is Raoul is that being a Northern boy they’re not rare/new to you, I’ve had issues in Wales when handing them over but around here no one batters an eye.

Batter would be appropriate for Scottish money

I once had a Taxi driver in Kent refuse my Scottish notes. I proceeded to jump out the taxi saying cheers for the free ride. He soon changed his mind 🙁

I remember folk used to take scottish £1 notes down south cos English shop/bar keepers accepted them as fivers.

You’re not required to take anyone’s money, whether it’s scottish or english or martian.

Verification’s much the same as with english notes- UV reactives, plastic “foil” in the paper, the weight and feel of the note should be pretty much identical to an english one. If it’s good enough to fool you then it’ll probably get past your bank too, stick it in the middle of a pay-in 😉

TBH it used to be a much bigger problem, back when nobody in england had heard of Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland. These days, everyone’s heard of them on account of they blew up the economy 😆

I’ve had London cab drivers offer to buy Scottish £1 notes off me. I suspect they were handing them out as fivers in change to the inebriated.

thekingisdead – Member
Why do some atm’s hand out English notes in Scotland!?

No real money left? 🙂

History dear boy, history, I raise you William Paterson.

My granny used to always send me down some toy Glaswegian money to Devon every Xmas and birthday in the 70s and 80s, I never had any trouble exchanging it for sweets and fags..

When I come back from working in Scotland I use any I have in the self service checkouts at Asda
They accept them and it saves any uncomfortableness for either party if I handed them over a normal till

Actually thinking about it how do those self service machines check if a note is fake?

Slightly o/t but the presence of a large amount of Scottish notes in cash at work is usually a good indicator of it being drugs money, so dealers and wholesalers down south are happy to take them

http://www.acbi.org.uk/media/sni_notes_factsheet_nov12_copy1.pdf

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21145103

Slightly o/t but the presence of a large amount of Scottish notes in cash at work is usually a good indicator of it being drugs money, so dealers and wholesalers down south are happy to take them

Dread to think what the 73kg of foreign and frequently defunct coins I death with the other day indicates.