To spend old £20?

[RaRaReba]

Ran out this morning to grab a bottle of milk with an old £20 I found in a handbag I hadn’t used for ages. They refused to take it! Said I had to take it to the bank. Is this standard now? Should I not try to spend them? They’re still legal tender until September as far as I know.

I would take them to the bank yeah
Technically they are legal tender but I wouldn't want to be the shop employee that made a mistake and took something I shouldn't have so I'm sure you'll have lots of people refusing to take it

Take it to your bank. Shops don't have to take any notes or coins that they don't want to, although it is unusual for them to refuse it. It wasn't an OLD old £20 was it?!

Legal tender only applies to debt doesn't it? Otherwise they are entirely free to accept or decline any denomination they like.

I found some in an old purse, in a winter coat last week. Paid off part of my credit card bill at the bank as it seemed easier. I would accept them at the shop I work in, but some staff may not and I couldn't be bothered with the possibility of being turned down.

The bank will take it no matter how old it is!

The paper notes don't go out of circulation until September.
I normally spend mine in the big supermarkets so don't have a problem.

In theory they shouldn't have refused but shops can decide which currency they accept

It wasn't an OLD old £20 was it?!
An old old £20? What’s that? I just thought there were old (paper) and new (plastic).

Shops are not obliged to accept anything, even current notes! 'Legal Tender' is a narrow, technical term meaning what must be accepted to settle a debt - a purchase is not a debt.

The old 20s went out of circulation some time ago so I would be surprised if shops were still accepting them. The Bank of England can change them - your bank should be able to initiate the process or supply details so that you can.

@RaRaReba

It wasn't an OLD old £20 was it?! An old old £20? What’s that? I just thought there were old (paper) and new (plastic).

There's been many issues of £20 that have been discontinued- all paper as we only introduced the plastic ones fairly recently. You can't spend them. It's well advertised. You need to pay it into your bank account.

Shops can take them and then they can get banked - they have to keep them separate from the other notes though. Although if they think that's too much hassle I suppose they can refuse to take them in the first place. Your own bank can swap it, doesn't need to be bank of England

@RaRaReba

It wasn't an OLD old £20 was it?! An old old £20? What’s that? I just thought there were old (paper) and new (plastic).

Yeah, I meant the paper £20 that came before the current paper £20, but if you're too young to remember them then it's unlikely you'd have one in your handbag