Legal Tender????

[yvonnea6313]

Can anyone tell me if a Scottish £1 NOTE, not coin, is legal tender in England??

Thanks

[al**bear]

No Scottish Bank note is 'legal tender' in England, it up to the recipient.

still legal up here, our OAPs demanded it stayed, and it did, at a time when our Banks listened 😉

[bankhaunter]

It's not legal tender in England and English banknotes are not legal tender in Scotland or Northern Ireland, however as said, it is up to the recipient.

http://www.royalmint.com/aboutus/policies-and-guidelines/legal-tender-guidelines

[dillon-in-bayern]

I was of the opinion that they were so I gooooogled only to find that the term "Legal Tender" has a very narrow official meaning which is quite mind boggling.

If you ask "are Scottish bank notes accepted south of the border?" then the answer is probably a yes, but maybe also a no.

Here's a good official explanation and I particularly liked the bit about when notes (of any kind) are accepted as 'legal tender', then officially no change can be given 😮

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

[electric*mayhem*band]

I gave one over in a shop in Carlisle once - which is just over the Border - and although it was accepted, the assistant scrutinised it as though I'd just slipped him a margarine wrapper. :^O

[cookiecookuk]

most Scottish bank notes are legal tender here but there are two small Scottish banks that are not legal tender here one i think is Clydesdale bank not sure what the other is 🙂

[cee-dee]

Surely the definitive answer comes from the Bank of England?:-

"Are Scottish & Northern Ireland notes "legal tender"?
In short ‘No’ these notes are not "legal tender"; furthermore, Bank of England notes are only legal tender in England and Wales.  Legal tender has, however, a very narrow technical meaning in relation to the settlement of debt. 

If a debtor pays in legal tender the exact amount he/she owes under the terms of a contract (and in accordance with its terms), or pays this amount into court, he/she has good defence in law if he/she is sued for non-payment of the debt.

In ordinary everyday transactions, the term "legal tender" in its purest sense need not govern a note's acceptability in transactions.  The acceptability of a Scottish or Northern Ireland note as a means of payment is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved. If both parties are in agreement, Scottish and Northern Ireland notes can be used in England and Wales. 

Holders of genuine Scottish and Northern Ireland notes are provided with a level of protection similar to that provided to holders of Bank of England notes.  This is because the issuing banks must back their note issue using a combination of Bank of England notes, UK coin and funds in an interest bearing bank account at the Bank of England."

The key there being "If both parties are in agreement."

You're not obliged to accept Scottish notes.

[yvonnea6313]

maybe 'legal tender' was nto the right terminology I don't know, but in short a local woman and we're not in Scotland handed over amongst her cash a £1 Scottish note in payment for something, the assistant said she wasn't certain we could accept it, she asked another assistant, both were not familiar with a £1 note and not certain they could accept it.  They asked our cash office who couldn't confirm whether to accept or not, so the note was declined.  However it has caused problems for the assistant involved. And still no-one here is sure whether we could/should accept it in payment for goods in England.  Must admit I didn't know £1 notes still existed.

[al**bear]

I gave one over in a shop in Carlisle once - which is just over the Border - and although it was accepted, the assistant scrutinised it as though I'd just slipped him a margarine wrapper. :^O

Think they were more likely scrutinising You 😛

The Post offices up here are always full of them, the OAPs demand them

[vamo48]

They are legal currency here in England, however in the south they are not seen very often and some people react as if being offered Monopoly money. We always try to bring Scottish notes home from our holidays in Scotland and save them till next time we go!

[squattingstudentsneakyrussian]

I accept all notes as long as they have the word "Sterling" printed on them.

I accept bank of Ireland, bank of England, Isle of man, Jersey, Guernsey and Gibraltar. Provided the notes say that magical Sterling. I live and operate my business in Scotland and mostly get Scottish notes for payment of goods.

It means my bank will accept it and I can then provide a service to my customers, some of whom are Irish and fly home at weekends to see family and arrive back to work with a fist full of Irish money.

I also accept euros at a favourable exchange rate, though I do not pass them back to customers, I trade them at the postoffice. Again these come from workers who have been to europe and come home with euros to exchange.

[jimbo1lee]

I live in England and when I drew some money from my bank this week, I was given three £50, notes,!

BUT, had problems using them, eg,

A.   When I went to pay for goods at a supermarket checkout with one, I had to wait several minutes for a supervisor to be called to check the note was - "real / legal tender",???

B.  When I went to use one to pay for a pint at my local, I was told "we don't accept £50 notes".

Yet I have in the past used Scottish and Irish banknotes in both these places without any problems, - as said "as long as the note has *sterling* printed on it", It is legal tender.

[vamo48]

There are two problems that people might have when offered £50 notes; they don't want to give lots of change, and they are quite uncommon so they are not sure they are genuine.

[kiss*my*pixel]

There are two problems that people might have when offered £50 notes; they don't want to give lots of change, and they are quite uncommon so they are not sure they are genuine.

There are more counterfeit £20 notes in circulation at the moment than £50 notes (also lots of fake £1 coins).

Whenever I pay for something in cash and the assistant makes a hoo-ha of checking my notes, I do the same when they give me my change. They don't like it! 😄

[cee-dee]

£50 notes are (or were) intended for paying large amounts so you don't have to count loadsa tenners or twenties.

If you're trying to pass a £50 note for a purchase of only a few quid, it's no wonder people are suspicious.