Tesco refusing £50?!

[frankiesamson]

Is Tesco really legally allowed to refuse £50 notes? It seems to me if we allow such huge chains to refuse any legal tender they wish, it isn't good for society in so many ways..

I have just been to Tesco to buy £46 worth of shopping, I was v organised, brought a £50 note with me to pay for it, and they refused on the basis that they don't have any staff to open a til, and only have the self payment machines available, which don't take £50 notes. They also said they can't give me change for a £50 note to enable me to use the self payment machine.

I felt like saying "I have a £50 note, if you can't take it, that's your problem! "

Having spent almost an hour getting my shopping, i'm now faced with having to leave it behind and drive home which is around 35 min round trip!

There are so many rules and regulations the average joe has to contend with in the UK and it often feels like the odds are against the small person, please someone tell me it isn't legal for these big stores to refuse legal tender?!

I work at a Tesco store. The amount of fake 50s we get is unreal. Some are so good for fakes, as staff we struggle to know what is fake and what isn’t. I’m not surprised the self service doesn’t take £50 notes. Our checkouts are usually closed during the night, as most supermarkets are

Ok so tesco did not refuse to accept your note.

You went shopping at 2am
You only had a £50 note
It was 2am and for security reasons they only have to self checkouts open.
These do not accept £50 notes whatever time of day it is.
You had no other way to pay they had no other way to serve you.

Case closed.

I see someone else has already asked the most important question, on case the OP doesn't see it - how could it possibly take nearly an hour to get £46 of shopping?

Be annoyed and complain if you want but Tesco aren't going to change what works best for them for the vanishingly few customers who want to pay with £50 notes in the middle of the night, would you expect them to?

Bluntness, are you sure that's true? I'm pretty sure they can't refuse to sell "for any reason" e.g. on the basis of race or gender.

Unless they said "we don't take £50 notes from east asians" or "we only take £50 if proffered using a penis" then the restrictions about race and sex under the equality act are not relevant.

Bluntness is quite correct. I find the fact that people keep using the term 'legal tender', when they clearly have no idea what it means (and 30s on google would clarify the issue) bizarre.

I am in my early 50s and have never had a £50 note!

@frankiesamson well then you'd actually be shoplifting so they'd be within their rights to ban you

£47 [worth of shopping] in 5ps

that's not "legal tender" ...

The most valuable lesson in this thread is the number of people who don't know what "legal tender" really is ...

I accept it’s bad planning to have the shop open with no till trained staff

Most of the staff that supervise the self checkouts are 'till trained' - no amount of training in the world will help them change a £50 sheet from an empty till though.

What are people not understanding about only self scan being open.

I can't see its complaint worthy. If its t :) heir policy its their policy. A company as big as Tesco wouldn't have an illegal policy
In a similar vein I went for a drink recently and behind the bar (chain type place, never been in before so this could be normal for big chains) t h eye had a sign saying no Scottish or Irish notes. As my friend is Scottish we were quite bemused. Again its legal tender.

had a sign saying no Scottish or Irish notes. As my friend is Scottish we were quite bemused. Again its legal tender.

No it's not.

seems "The Scotsman" knows legal tender better than some here ...

www.scotsman.com/business/companies/financial/video-why-scottish-bank-notes-are-not-legal-tender-1-4653894

Our Tesco self scan take 50 euro notes.Saying that im in Dublin.But i cant believe the amount of people on this thread who have never seen a £50 note.

I worked in Tesco and the only note we had to get a manager for was a 500 euro note.And i have seen plenty of them.

Well if I took my shopping and put it in the car then I'd be in debt to tesco by £47, so only then they'd have to take the £50 note

No, then you would be guilty of theft so they still wouldn't have to take the £50 note.

Don't worry about it, you know for next time. You could complain, they might care that they lost $47 and someone had to put your shopping back. But it's unlikely.

I agree OP that that's painful.

The vast majority of people pay by card these days and shops are doing their best to discourage cash use due to high processing costs. If cards weren't the main payment method then £50 notes would be very common these days due to inflation. I've only used them for paying builders so they can dodge tax.

I suspect Tesco will start introducing self service tills that don't accept cash / just like Waitrose have done.

But i cant believe the amount of people on this thread who have never seen a £50 note.

Conversely I can. Growing up my DF was a motor trader, and it wasn't unusual for people to buy cars with cash made up £50 notes. But apart from that, I have never seen one "in the wild". Even in 1982, till training at Sainsburys, we had to call a supervisor for a £50 note (never happened).

Mentioned this thread to DW last night, and she can't recall ever handling a £50 note

DS on the other hand, works in a casino, and regularly has to handle £50s incoming and outgoing (so we know one place that is giving them out). Apparently £250,000 is a ballache in anything less ...

But right now, I can't recall the last time I saw a £50.

I've only used them for paying builders so they can dodge tax.

Really . Is that what they told you ?

Tbf 50 euro only a few years ago was worth about 35 sterling. Now its worth about 49.50 sterling. Anyhow the 50 is widely counterfeited. Quite a few of our local shops dont take them. And i dont blame them. If you set up automatic tills to accept them it would be like a free sweetie machine in some areas.

All I know was that David Brent on the office said legally they would have to accept stamps as it has the Queens Head on it and is legal tender for I'm guessing they should have to accept a £50 note.

All I know was that David Brent on the office said legally they would have to accept stamps as it has the Queens Head on it and is legal tender for I'm guessing they should have to accept a £50 note.

Where do you practice law ? Toytown ?

Tbf 50 euro only a few years ago was worth about 35 sterling. Now its worth about 49.50 sterling

What it’s worth vs £ doesn’t affect its value in EU countries though, & all their ATMs have dished out €50 notes for years.

I can’t remember if they dispense €100 notes too (I don’t usually get enough out at once!) but I’ve definitely had them in larger currency purchases before travelling, & been able to use them for eg a large supermarket shop on arrival.

A while ago I was trying to pay my shoppoing in Tesco with a £50 note I was at the scan check out and it wouldn’t take my money, a staff member said unfortunately the self serve tills don’t accept them only maned tills, though she was kind enough to get it changed up at the maned tills for me.

egg. This is what happened to the OP, except there are no manned tolls available at 2am so Tesco couldn't change the note.

Shops can refuse to serve any customer at any time for any reason other than one of the Protected Characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010.

How do you think they are rare? I get plenty every week in my business?