Paper £20 notes

[Chicchicchicchiclana]

An older couple I know (very late 70s) have stashed about £1500 worth of £20 notes in their house. If they bank them they will go over the savings limit for the extremely tiny amount of benefits they get, so in a way I don't blame them - but that's a whole other thread.

However, they now need to get rid of them in a world that largely doesn't accept cash and they don't go anywhere to spend them. They get their shopping delivered, organised by a relative, I think they pay the relative by cheque as the relative doesn't want to accept the paper notes because in their words it would be money laundering.

They don't spend a lot, they have no needs in terms of clothes or anything else. They don't need a cleaner, yet. They both get their hair cut at home every couple of months and probably pay their hairdresser £40 cash if that.

Wwyd if you wanted to help them switch these paper notes for plastic? We don't live nearby so it's not easy.

We paid a lot of the older notes into a bank account via the post office - they might be happy to swap paper for plastic (probably not such a large sum in one hit but in a couple of goes)?

I think they need to bite the bullet and bank them , if that small amount takes them over the threshold then surely they will drop below it again fairly quickly and the benefits can be restarted I assume .

But they don't want to pay them in to a bank account. They just wish the notes they have in their house were plastic rather than paper. It's very annoying but it's the kind of thing older people who aren't very money savvy or tech savvy do. It's causing them a lot of stress and I'd love to help even though I don't really approve ...

1. Post office still exchange them. Take them in as small bundles at different times/places?
2. exchange them at their bank? Then keep them back at their home despite the risk and use them instead of cheques? Sorry but I don’t really ‘get’ the relatives comment about money laundering - it would be no difference if the relative was paid by cheque and the equivalent was placed in cash at the older couples bank in order to cover the cheque. Iyswim.

They can exchange them at the Bank of England - either in person or via post.

The good news is that they have until September 2022, that's when the paper 20s will cease to be legal tender.

www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes

I'd buy the notes off them, paying with plastic notes and either pay the paper ones into my account or slowly get rid of them by spending them.

Can they not take the same amount out of their bank account in plastic notes? And then bank the paper notes to bring them back up to the same balance?

[quote Lovelydovey]www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes[/quote]
Is that for after they have been withdrawn?

Withdraw £1500 from the account. Deposit £1500 of old bank notes.

They could special delivery all the paper money to OP, OP could special delivery back a lot of plastic notes.

What are they saving for?

My PIL's are in their 80's and have close to 4 x that amount... we keep trying to tell them to spend them (they pay for everything by card, use the bloody 20's!). The issue with paying in or changing such a large amount is that it will likely be flagged for money laundering. £1500 should be OK but they need to get them changed before they accumulate any more!

Can they not wiithdraw the same amount from the savings, then pay in the old notes?

Just exchange them £200 at a time in a few different post offices.

Just say they were in a old piggy bank or something.

Why on Earth does the relative think it’s money laundering?

I assume the relative doesn’t want to take the money because of the benefit issue and she doesn’t wish to be complicit IYSWIM .

Withdraw 1500. Pay in the old notes?

I'm thinking this isn't an older relative 😆

Put some of it into vouchers, eg for whatever supermarket they normally shop at? Not all of it in one go but you could get through a good few hundred a month depending on your grocery bill.

Are there payment cards still where you load them with cash, like the ones you used to take on holiday to minimise/avoid exchange fees?

By paper notes do you just mean cash or do you mean the old style paper £20 notes before they were polymer?

Can they not withdraw £1500 out their bank. Then a few days/weeks later pay in the £1500 in paper notes

Are you all seriously giving advice on how to commit benefit fraud?

@Zarene

Are you all seriously giving advice on how to commit benefit fraud?

Was just thinking this

Well TBF the benefit fraud has already been committed as the £1500 already exists. Like the OP said that's a whole other thread, this is querying how to swap old notes for new.