That's LEGAL TENDAAAAR!

[NotMuchJustAQuantum]

DM sent 5yo DD a Scottish £5 note in the post, and Sainsbury's (in England) just declined it "because of forgeries". Has anyone else encountered this?

Obviously they have a right to refuse any money they want, but seems odd...? Why would a Scottish note be more likely to be a forgery than an English one?

Not a big issue, I guess. But she was so excited to pay for her Peppa comic with her own money!

It's not uncommon, sadly, for Scottish (and Northern Irish) notes to be refused south of the border.

You will find places that accept it, you can also try using self checkout machines or taking it to the bank.

I guess it's possible that is more likely for forgeries of Scottish notes to 'pass' in England, as they aren't as common there?

IIRC Scottish notes are not legal tender, even in Scotland. They are however, legal currency, which is what matters here. Legal tender is only relevant in terms of payment of a debt, not payment in a shop.

Why would a Scottish note be more likely to be a forgery than an English one?

It isn't, it's just that people have no idea what they are meant to look like so wouldn't spot an obvious fake.

I live somewhere outside the UK but in which UK currency is legal, alongside the local money. Since the redesign of Bank of England notes I've had trouble getting those accepted, let alone Scottish ones. It's unfamiliarity and therefore a nervousness.

When I used to work in a shop I did once ask about a Northern Irish note, simply because I'd never seen one before. Was told it was legal, apologized for the delay.
Got Scottish fivers every now and and the rule was that accepting them was fine, but we couldn't give them back out as change.
The only time I refused to accept money was a very defaced coin. Couldn't tell what it was.

Surprised at a major supermarket refusing a Scottish note although as PP said they are entitled to refuse any form of payment. 'Legal tender' has a specific meaning to do with what must be accepted in payment of a debt (and doesn't, in any case, include Scottish notes). You don't have a debt for goods you're about to purchase so 'legal tender' doesn't apply. Your bank should accept the note if it's refused elsewhere.

What SoupDragon said plus the fact that three different banks in Scotland issue notes.

All the bloody time! It’s just ignorance to be perfect honest with you.
I now just use my card south of the border.

When I worked in retail I used to wind my Scottish boss up by pretending Scottish notes couldn't be accepted 😂

It'll just be a lack of training for the staff not to accept it tbh. Saying it could be a forgery is just them trying to cover their confusion.

Yes technically scottish notes aren't legal tender, but its technically illegal to be drunk inside a pub, but that still happens in non-covid times!

www.bcu.ac.uk/law/news-events/blogs/strangest-uk-laws

Its very annoying to have our money refused in England, I pretty much will walk away without buying the item if it happens to me in England out of principle. Its just one more anti-scottish sentiment we have to deal with though, so hey ho.

Yes technically scottish notes aren't legal tender, but its technically illegal to be drunk inside a pub, but that still happens in non-covid times!

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make. The fact that Scottish notes aren't legal tender, doesn't mean it's illegal to pay a debt using them, just that there's no legal obligation to accept them. On the flip side, English notes aren't legal tender in Scotland either...

And legal tender is nothing to do with spending money in shops..

As SoupDragon said if you are English and live nowhere near the border of Scotland you are highly unlikely to ever see Scottish notes. I worked 20 years in retail and rarely saw them and the always had to be checked because we simply didn't know what they were meant to look like. This was pre internet days so it wasn't like we could quickly Google but even now staff really don't have the time to do that.
Where I worked did used to get a lot of Northern Irish notes at a particular time of year when there was an event that lots of people from NI came over for. The local banks used to sometimes send an A4 leaflet round to the shops that showed what they were meant to look like. But that was for one week a year and if you were randomly given one at another time it was just confusing.
Yes it's all legal tender but as one of the 1001+ things your average sales assistant has to remember what a Scottish fiver looks like is probably number 974 on that list.

I'm agreeing that yes technically people will turn round and say 'its not legal tender' and they expect that to mean its not legal to use in a shop.

I used the illegal drunk in the pub as an analogy of a law that isn't enforced

We used to get this all the time with NI notes, we still wait to lift money from an Atm with English notes if we are going over or sending money. Its better now cards are used most times.

Some shops refuse Bank of England £50s for the same reason. Anything the shops see less of they're less likely to recognise a forgery.

My kids tried to buy a sandwich south of the border with Scottish fiver and were refused, as the sales assistant said they didn't accept foreign currency. When they pointed out it was stirling, she said, "Never heard of it!"

Actually it's legal TENDER, but hey ho.

I used to work in a deli in England when I was a teenager. I had never seen a Scottish note in my life until presented with one at the age at 17, I had to check with my boss that I could accept it.

It's definitely easier to forge something where people don't see it all the time. The old notes looked like monopoly money anyway (from 3 different sets), at least the new plastic notes are more consistent.

Scotland came up with its own currency and people get upset that England won't take them? It's like asking for pounds to be accepted in Europe. If I'm driving down, I tend to stop in Carlisle anyway so get cash out there.

@TheLovleyChebbyMcGee

I'm agreeing that yes technically people will turn round and say 'its not legal tender' and they expect that to mean its not legal to use in a shop.

I used the illegal drunk in the pub as an analogy of a law that isn't enforced

The argument of legal tender or not is a moot point and irrelevant to retail / currency It’s not an example of a law that doesn’t get enforced, so drunks in pubs aren’t matching arguments

Legal tender only refers to what must be legally accepted in payment of debt, and there are limitations to how much of each denomination are valid as legal tender.
In scotland only coins count

It’s up to a creditor whether or not they accept payment of a debt in any currency unless it’s in legal tender up to specified limits, and it’s up to a seller what they accept as payment

The majority of time it’s about familiarity as to whether you are confident in what you receive - and also any other potential problems it may cause, such as a high denomination note with a lot of change draining the float in your till and affecting the ability to deal with other customers before you can get to a bank etc

The Sainsbury’s near me did the same, and with £50 English notes too. However they had a customer service kiosk that would let you change them. I think it’s just that they get so few they aren’t trained to know real form fake.

@wowfudge

Actually it's legal TENDER, but hey ho.

You mean it doesn't really have 4 As in it?? Well, stone me.

Same applies with Channel Island cash - only can use it in C.I. where they force it on you! It's too much trouble to bank non-standard £ currency away from their ''area''. The banks don't want it. Your DM should have known it would not be welcome in shops in England. Ask for a substitute so DC is not disappointed.

Scotland came up with its own currency

Nope. It's still pounds sterling.

Scotland came up with its own currency and people get upset that England won't take them? It's like asking for pounds to be accepted in Europe.

Well, no it not. Its not its own currency. Its still pounds and pence. Its plain ignorance, is what it is!

It’s up to a creditor whether or not they accept payment of a debt in any currency unless it’s in legal tender up to specified limits, and it’s up to a seller what they accept as payment

But thats not why its refused. Its refused because retailers don't train their staff properly

I was once handed a Scottish note where I used to work. My manager had always told me we were never to accept them!

So I had to apologise to the client and explain although I knew they were acceptable, my boss would not be happy about it.
(I would have had to pay it back out of my wages if I'd taken it, my boss was great :/)

As others have mentioned, “legal tender” isn’t actually applicable here. 😬

A retailer is allowed to refuse a sale for any reason (bar protected characteristics), so not being able to verify your note is an acceptable reason considering how low the the bar is set!

You can’t expect a teenage cashiers from England to be familiar with Scottish money to the extent of knowing whether a note is fake or not. Same with ID issued from different countries. Of course fraud would be rife if the cashier has no point of reference to verify it. This is something you need to raise with management or head office.

Would be easiest to pay it into a bank and exchange the note or withdraw the cash for her.