To ask if I can use Scottish £5 note in England?

[fuckingidiotseverywhere]

Sorry, posting for traffic! I've googled but I'm not getting a consistent answer. DD received some cash in cards for Christmas from family, one of which was a Scottish £5 note (we are in England). Partner thinks nowhere will accept this? Would be nice to have an answer in advance before we let DD "pay herself" for some things she wants in a shop (she's 3 so it's novelty for her to hand the money over herself and she's very excited to do so). Obviously we will just replace it for her with an English one if not, but wanted to check in advance. Thank you.

You definitely can’t. In fact it’s well known that Scottish notes are confiscated as soon as you hit Carlisle. And the further South you go, the less people understand Scottish notes. May as well burn it

and i am on the south coast

Yes but best to be spent in bigger shops as more likely to be frowned at in little ones (they can't give in change)

i have never been refused

They are legal, but shop assistants recognise English notes and for some Scottish notes could be 'play' money for all they know, so are reluctant to take them.

I have had to explain them in England sometimes but never been refused. But can confirm a Turkish exchange wouldn't (ex)change them.

i must have an honest face
i presume your dd also has an honest face

"THAT'S LEGAL TENDER!!" 😂

Yes, it's fine. I've used Scottish and NI notes in England. Some people are a bit scared to accept them, but you can use them

They are valid tender but not legal tender. I learnt this after contacting trading standards after I had my Scottish money declined in several London trading places!

used it in a supermarket self serve checkout just fine. You can also walk into any bank and they’ll change it for you.

Legal tender means it has be accepted in payment of a debt. It doesn’t mean it has to be accepted in a shop.

Someone else has beaten me to the point that Scottish notes aren’t legal tender in England, but they are legal currency. So shops can accept them, but they don’t have to.

I’d probably pop into a bank to see if they’d swap them. In an increasingly cashless society, shop assistants are even less likely to recognise one these days. To be honest, I’m Scottish and couldn’t hand on heart identify whether one was real anymore. 😳

I was quoting a comedian...will see if I can find the clip

So annoying when people decline it, especially in London where you'd think they'd have seen it all

Someone else has beaten me to the point that Scottish notes aren’t legal tender in England, but they are legal currency. So shops can accept them, but they don’t have to.

Just on a point of fact, shops don't have to accept anything. They can refuse Bank of England notes if they want.

It's Michelle macintyre if you Google "that's legal tender" you'll find it.

*michael not Michelle ffs 😂

Haha she definitely does, she still has a baby face, she's only 3. She has just made us laugh when we said, "oh how exciting, DD, you can spend your pennies in the shop and give them to the lady all by yourself". She replied, deadpan: "but mummy, if I give all my pennies to the lady then I won't have any left!" My 3 year old already seems to understand the need to save for a rainy day 😂

She will 100% change her mind when she sees toys, of course 😂

I’m from the NE and now live in the NW. Never had a problem in any major shops but have encountered issues in a small independent. I imagine if you keep venturing further south you may experience more issues as they just don’t see them as often.

I've had them a few times and never had a problem with anyone not accepting them. I last had one a few weeks ago and used it in I think Poundland and the cashier said people are always worried about spending them but they have to accept them because they are legal tender.

Growing up in the north east most shops were fine about taking Scottish notes and when I later lived in Belfast for a bit even Northern Irish notes were mostly accepted in Newcastle. We now live in Greater Manchester and several of our small local stores have signs up saying they won't take Scottish notes so it depends on the shop. A bank should change it for you if necessary. I hope your little one enjoys spending it. :)

In my experience most traders in England try to decline Scottish notes claiming that they're easier to forge - which is probably just an excuse,
A friend of mine was in London and came to pay his bill with Scottish notes. He got the usual palaver as above and was asked to use some other method of payment. When he said he didn't have any, they were suddenly happy to accept them.

Has anyone else read the entire thread and still feels confused, as I do?! Think I need to try again after a coffee 😄

South Devon here, and yes ASDA and M&S accept them.

Easy way to remember - Scotland is attached to England, Ireland is not as there is a sea inbetween.

You can send it to me.
It is still sterling.
Another sign of control of the English over the Scots.

I think there's just one Bank of England bank. And I am not sure what happens if you walk into it with money and ask to exchange it.

the cashier said people are always worried about spending them but they have to accept them because they are legal tender

Not true - 'legal tender' has a narrow meaning related to settlement of debts and is irrelevant to the purchase of goods. However, a large chain like Poundland probably has an internal policy of accepting Scottish notes.

The only time we've had problems using Scottish notes in England was when we paid £100 notes into the bank. They were so unusual to see that they made cashiers suspicious, but there was no problem after they'd done their checks in branch.