In thinking that a bank should be able to change some money for me

[saltire]

I have 2 Royal bank of Scotland £10 notes. For some reaosn no shops in Fareham, Portsmouth, Gosport or surrounding area will accept them. I've never had a problem in Devon, or Cornwall or Kent or nay onther areas of Southern England.
Anyway I'd enough of having £20 in mypusre that I can't spend so went into a bank today and asked if they could give me 2 English £10 notes in exchange and the response was "we don't change money, foreign or otherwise".

They were taking the piss surely?

It is legal tender though.

I have a Scottish £5 in my purse given to me in change today from a shop, who said it was fine to spend anywhere.

Plus I have changed a scottish £10 previously in Barclays and they were fine about it.

How bizarre. YANBU. How is this different to paying the £20 into your account at the counter, then strolling outside and taking £20 english notes out of the atm?

Well it was a HAlifax I tried, DH said they were probably being awkward because it was an RBS tenner and not a BoS one!

All the newer notes are those notes and I have never had trouble using them in Somerset or anywhere I have been.

Banks should change money. When I take in a load of coppers they change those into notes/larger coins. If I have a £50 in my pay for instance, they will change that. They're being awkward.

I did think of that Scoobie, but have forgotten my pin number so am awaiting a new one!

Halifax are more of a building society aren't they. Maybe that is why. Try HSBC, Barclays, LTSB, Natwest/RBS.

Is the Halifax a bank? I thought it was a building society.

Was it Lloyds by chance?

Go to a Halifax, they are part of BofS after all.

They wouldn't take my mum's Scottish £10 note on the bus down here. She was not amused, let rip about us all being in the same country etc.

I'm not sure what Halifax are TBH. We are with Bank of Scotland who are now Halifax Bank of Scotland. I can't pay any money into my BoS account at the halifax, or pay DH's credit card bill there, but my BoS saver account and the DS super saver accounts were changed to halifax ones, and I can access them at a Bank of Scotland branch!

Are shops allowed to refuse them if they are legal tender?

oops crossed posts.

That's worse than Saltire, I would go back again and ask to speak to a manager and point out they are part of a SCOTTISH institution.

Actually Scottish bank notes aren't even legal tender in Scotland, never mind England...

In the town where my mum lives - very near to the border with England, several shops there have signs up saying "English notes are not accepted".

Nationwide wouldn't change my son's £3 worth of copper because he (or us rather)isn't a customer. I even spoke to the manager and he insisted the cashier was right. I emailed to complain and got a reply saying they don't change coins for non-customers but DS (7) did get a little present sent as an apology for their utterly ridiculous rules.

cristina: but why should the bank if you/your son are not customers?

Banks are not charities are they?

Hardly charity work changing £3 worth of pennies into bigger coins. It takes less to weigh up the coins then it does to reply to e-mails and send presents to disgruntled potential customers.