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!

@FelicityPike

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

If you're using ignorance in it's correct meaning of not knowing something then you are right.

English shop assistants aren't familiar enough the Scottish and other notes to be able to identify a forgery and I believe not all the English checking devices work with notes from other nations. It's totally sensible for shops to be cautious. I can't see why that would surprise anyone

It depends how far south you are. I see the odd Scottish note where I live in England but that's because it borders Scotland. I've never seen NI notes in the flesh, and have only ever encountered an English £50 once in my life - as a teenager working in a shop and I had to get the manager to tell me it was real! The Scots notes are not legal tender and they count as a promissory note IIRC, because the issuing banks aren't government banks. Please correct me if I'm wrong there - I went to the BoS museum in Edinburgh and it was fascinating!

I once had a NI tenner refused at Kentish Town tube station. I was used to having to argue with people to accept my NI money (I quite enjoyed it) but what was especially frustrating about this one was that he showed me a list of which banknotes they were allowed to accept which included 2 of the 4 NI banks but not the other two with no explanation.

I was once in a supermarket a looooong time ago where the customer in front of me at the checkout had her Scottish pound coin refused. That was a standard £1, happened to be ther one with a thistle design on the tails side. Cashier assumed that meant it was a Scottish one and unacceptable.

I work in an English supermarket and handle the cash that is taken. Even though we are far from the borders our colleagues are well trained in what Scottish and NI banknotes look like. We have printed sheets to show examples and how to verify in case of uncertainty. It really should be the case in all bigger shops at least.

As an aside I always admire the different designs. I think the RBS polymer notes in particular are beautiful. The back of the notes have animals on them and they’re gorgeous.

Try using a NI banknote which says issued by Bank of Ireland (NI bank) - that gives you a whole fresh level of hell explaining that it’s sterling 😂

Ah yes, in my thread title I was actually referencing a Michael McIntyre 'bit' in which he describes this sort of scenario. I'm aware in actuality 'legal tender' is not the pertinent issue here.

'LEGAL TENDAAAAR' is how he pronounces it in his attempt at a Scottish accent.

I can't share a link but maybe somebody could Google and be so kind...

People who use the phrase ‘legal tender’ are always so annoying. Mostly because as a PP has said, that’s a load of nonsense. And I say that as a Scot living in England

@tara66

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.

No. It’s not the same. Scottish and NI currency is legal across the UK and in the Channel Islands. Jersey and Guernsey notes are valid across the CI but NOT in the UK. You can exchange them 1:1 in a bank as a foreign currency but they won’t be accepted as payment.

CI mostly has its own currency in circulation but the percentage of UK variants goes up in the summer. Pounds coins are fairly rare - the pound note still reigns supreme. You can withdraw UK currency at the airport as you leave, or during your stay at a bank or Post Office. CI notes are not ‘forced’ on you, they’re simply the predominant currency of the country you’re in.

I absoutely KNEW this would be about Scottish pounds 🤣 - they're not legal as they're issued by private banks rather than government and so technically aren't really legal tender even in Scotland. The reason they aren't accepted outside Scotland is that should the private banks go under they're backed by nothing at all.

"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."

This has to be one of the most stupid things I've ever read on this website. Well done.

they're not legal

Yes they are. There are legal currency.

The fact they are not legal tender is irrelevant to them being accepted in shops. English notes are readily accepted in shops in Scotland too, but are also not legal tender here.

NuniaBeeswax I think it even beats the poster who asked if Edinburgh was open at Christmas.