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.

It's legal tender but if the person serving you doesn't see them often enough to know what they should look like and be confident it isn't fake, they may refuse. Probably depends where you live, I'm in Newcastle and they're relatively common and easily accepted, if you're in the south it could be harder.

Personally I'd swap it out for the 3yo, so she doesn't get upset if they do refuse, but no need to take it to the bank or anything. Just spend it in your normal shopping, some shops might refuse it but if you try a few times somewhere will take it.

They are not legal tender! This is a pet peeve of mine and I see it everywhere!

Many shops will accept them, some won’t. You can exchange it in a bank if you’re struggling to get it accepted.

The strict legal answer is they're not required to accept them. Many big stores do, as a courtesy.

In my experience most self-service checkouts work fine with them.

As others have said - it's not legal tender but that concept is irrelevant here anyway (shops often refuse English £50 notes which are legal tender).

Using Scottish / NI notes in England isn't the big deal it used to be and any shop assistant would need a heart of stone to refuse a child but, if you are really worried, could you swap it on the sly for an English fiver while DD isn't looking?

Will a self serve till accept it?

It's not really ignorance. It's the number of fakes.

Fraudsters target Scottish notes to use in England because cash handlers are less familiar with them so are less likely to spot the fakes.

The shop where I work took in about 10 fake notes in the lead up to Christmas. Every single one is a Scottish note.

We do still take them but a manager or cash office employee must check every Scottish note.

I can see why retailers - especially small business owners - would have a blanket refusal policy.

@fuckingidiotseverywhere I agree with Pp who posted Bank of England stuff. It’s at a shop’s discretion really (don’t have to accept). Post office would probably change it though? They exchanged some channel islands ones I received.

When we get notes from relatives we usually use them in the self service tills.

Some shops can be very ignorant towards Scottish notes,

Easiest route is replace it yourself then when you can pop into the bank or post office and exchange it there. As others have said they are legal tender BUT people at tills and bars etc can be arseholes about it, however that said they never give it out as change they always bank them as people don't want them especially in the bottom half of the country

I’m scottish & have never had a note refused. They technically can refuse but i don’t see why they would. you could swap it in a bank or pay into your bank and withdraw money for her

Hahaha

I’d try a supermarket rather than a small independent

I def recall being taught in training at McDonald’s in the late 1990s that they were legal tender and had to be accepted.

When I lived in Yorkshire paying with a low value Scottish note wasn't a problem, now I live in (non-tourist town) Cornwall you would think I am offering alien money and attempting to rob the shopkeeper blind, it's very rare to accept a Scottish note.

I get round it by paying any Scottish notes into my bank account at the post office as they are happy to accept them but won't do a straight swap over the counter.

That's helpful for OP to know. Oddly enough I live in Scotland & Asda were just very reluctant to accept my English £20 notes on Christmas eve (given in change when I purchased an item in Newcastle - paid for at sellers request in English not Scottish notes) Silly really as it's all Sterling.

Oh my goodness makes my blood boil. Totally legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom. In the 40 years I have lived in England have never ever had a Scottish note refused. I always stock up on Scottish notes when I visit my parents as I almost dare shops to refuse. My dad did have his money refused once and responded with “you take our bloody oil so you will take my Scottish money”.

I'm Scottish and have family in Liverpool and used to have issues with Scottish notes. It's not worth the hassle to be honest. X

It's not always ignorance. They have to be careful of fake notes. If you aren't familiar with the note there is a higher chance of someone passing you a fake!

You can't blame shop staff for being careful. I worked in a High st banks for years and I could pick out a fake by touch easily, I still had to stop and double check 50s and ni/Scottish notes simple because there where less familiar to me

Your dad is incredibly rude, and would be quickly met with a “no, but you will get out of my bloody shop”.

It is not legal tender. They do not have to accept it. Your ignorance is embarrassing and it shows you up.

The problem is few English shops know what a Scots banknote looks like and on that basis they refuse them as they have no way of knowing if it is genuine. It's legal for them to do that.

We have Scots fivers sent down from DW's family in Scotland for the DCs, I just take them to the bank.

You can try but lots of places around here won't take them as a few months ago there was a man 'buying a pint' and could only offer a fake scottish 50 to pay with it and get lots of change back. Within a few days plenty of the local pubs had posted his picture, its now pretty much an unwritten rule nothing around here will take a scottish note as they don't have the experient with them to spot the fakes.

Will a self serve till accept it?

Yes, their scanners will accept all legal currencies, including NI and Scottish notes.

I wish people would check the meaning of the term 'legal tender' before bandying it about like it's a magic talisman against getting notes refused.

Legal tender has nothing to do with what currency you can or cannot use in a shop!

Sounds a pleasant man!

Yes but you'll get some funny looks. Scottish £1 notes are even more amusing to spend! The problem is that the English cashiers won't be able to easily spot a counterfeit.

Your dad was both rude and wrong

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/what-is-legal-tender