Scottish notes are not legal tender

donna petrie · Post by **donna petrie** » Fri May 18, 2007 4:41 pm

HI: When I come over from Canada and I go to my bank here to get some cash- I have the choice of English or Scottish bank notes. Any difference in value is minuscule. One occasion they were actually worth more. I have no trouble converting back to dollars when I return. I admit I have only used Scottish notes in bigger English cities , but have had no problem. If I had a problem I would not buy from the particular store. But them I'm petty that way. Donna

ASGROOMBRIDGE · Post by **ASGROOMBRIDGE** » Fri May 18, 2007 8:03 pm

Me I am going to boycot my M and S, I did point out that they sold Whisky and Haggis, and the wee minx said oh are they made in Scotland, I was fair huffed.

Audrey

PS Chris, Frome is still the same a one street town.

G.Love · Post by **G.Love** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:19 pm

Retailers in England have never been obliged to accept Scottish bank notes.

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:39 pm

See above.

Nor are Scottish retailers obliged to accept Bank of England banknotes, but they do

David

G.Love · Post by **G.Love** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:28 pm

How can that be - surely the notes issued by the Bank of England are the legal tender for the entire United Kingdom?

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:36 pm

G.Love wrote:How can that be - surely the notes issued by the Bank of England are the legal tender for the entire United Kingdom?

See above .........

To repeat .........

http://www.siliconglen.com/Scotland/1_7.html has some interesting things to say, including:

Scottish bank notes are not legal tender in Scotland. English bank notes of denomination less than 5UKP were legal tender in Scotland under Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954. Now, with the removal of BoE 1UKP notes, only coins constitute legal tender in Scotland. English bank notes are only legal tender in England, Wales, The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. In Scotland, 1 pound coins are legal tender to any amount, 20ps and 50ps are legal tender up to 10 pounds; 10p and 5ps to 5 pounds and 2p and 1p coins are legal tender to 20p (separately or in combination). 2 pounds coins and (if you can get hold of one) 5 pound coins are also legal tender to unlimited amounts, as are gold coins of the realm at face value (in Scotland at least).

A sair fecht, is it no that Bank of England notes are accepted 99.99% of the time north of Gretna, but Scottish notes are often refused south of Gretna.

David

ASGROOMBRIDGE · Post by **ASGROOMBRIDGE** » Tue May 22, 2007 5:45 pm

I agree David, as a child back in the 1950's I well remember going to Carlisle from Annan (a rare treat in those day's) and my grandmother being really afronted when they refused her scottish notes in the market.

Audrey

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Wed May 23, 2007 11:54 am

BTW, I'm assuming, in my innocence

, that www.siliconglen.com/Scotland/1_7.html has got it right in the sense that the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954 still applies, and hasn't been overtaken by later legislation

David

Post by **Pandabean** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:10 pm

Just wondering. What can you do when confornted with the situation of your money being refused in an English shop? Is it worth fighting it?

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:59 am

Pandabean wrote:Just wondering. What can you do when confornted with the situation of your money being refused in an English shop? Is it worth fighting it?

From long experience, no, - because they're correct in their view that the notes being tendered are not "strictly speaking" legal tender. It just leads to lots of hassle. Sadly, the best way to avoid any problems is to equip yourself in advance with BoE notes ...........

I always carry a cash reserve of £20 in the depths of my wallet, and ensure that it's a BoE note, for use in such situations.

David