2006-11-28 13:09:43 · 17 answers · asked by bubbles1 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
They are accepted in the north of England! But they are NOT so-called 'legal tender', only Bank of England notes are legal tnder in England. Thus shops etc. do not HAVE to take them. (if you've got any Scottish notes you can't spend, I'll be happy to take them!).
Note: legal tender is a legal term, not a custom. For example, a shop can refuse to accept 50p worth of pennies because that is not legal tender (20p in pennies is legal tender), so a shopkeeper in England can decide whether or not to accept Scottish money. On the other hand all legal tender in England is also legal tender in Scotland. It's a mad world!
2006-11-28 13:17:26 · answer #1 · answered by Barks-at-Parrots 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They are legal tender and should be accepted, they certainly will be in a bank. The problem is with shops, services and so on who are not legally obliged to accept your money! It's VERY annoying anyway. In a lot of banks oversean they won't change Scottish money either - I'm not sure if legally they have to, but UK banks do.
2006-11-28 21:14:14 · answer #2 · answered by f0xymoron 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are usually accepted in England, but usually only after giving them a quizzical look or two.
Much the same way as Northern Irish banknotes get funny looks when presented in Scotland.
The only banknotes that are genuinely legal tender are those printed by the Bank of England [at a printers in Wales?]
It's about time everyone got their act together and all banknotes were printed as Bank of Great Britain or Bank of UK + NI.
2006-12-02 09:44:10 · answer #3 · answered by Pit Bull 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Scotland has its own Parliament and its own legal system so to be honest i don't think Scottish notes should be taken. However i think you'll find if you go to different shops some will take them.
2006-12-01 12:40:31 · answer #4 · answered by jb 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Scottish banknotes are not legal tender in England. In fact, they are not legal tender in Scotland, either.
The reason some shopkeepers might not accept Scottish banknotes is security. Because we in England don't see Scottish notes very often, it's easy for us to make mistakes when counting them and we might not notice a counterfeit note as easily as we would spot a fake English note. Do you know what security features there are on a Scottish £20 note? Or even what colour it's meant to be? I don't.
On legal tender...
The only legal tender in Scotland are Royal Mint coins. As in England & Wales, only £1 and £2 coins are legal tender for payment of unlimited amounts; 1p to 50p coins are only legal tender for payment of debts up to 20p (in 1p or 2p coins), £5 (in 5p or 10p coins), or £10 (in 20p or 50p coins). In England & Wales, Bank of England banknotes are also legal tender for payment of any amount; no banknotes - English, Scottish, Euro, or whatever - are legal tender in Scotland.
Legal tender is actually a very complicated subject. Even if a note or coin is legal tender, a shopkeeper does not have to accept it as payment (unlike the case in the USA, where I believe they are obliged to accept any legal tender US notes and coins). This is how some shops are allowed to have notices saying "we do not accept £50 notes". But converesely, you are allowed to accept things as payment even if they are not legal tender. A shop could say it accepts balls of wool as payment for items if they wanted to.
So an English shopkeeper could, if he was a bit strange, say he does not accept any British coins or banknotes; he could choose instead to take payment exclusively in Swiss francs, US dollars, or even little baby lambs. It's a bit different if the debt already exists (for example, on your pay-monthly phone bill when you've run up £50 of calls): your phone company can't say they will only accept francs/dollars/lambs/whatever for payment of your debt; they MUST accept payment in one pound coins, although they can refuse to accept any other form of payment.
Another interesting fact: Scottish banknotes are issued by more than one bank, unlike banknotes in England & Wales, which by law may only be issued by the Bank of England.
It's all quite hard to explain, but the links below perhaps do a better job than I can :)
2006-11-28 22:09:39 · answer #5 · answered by Adrian 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
They are... ACCEPTED in England!
Some retailers may be ignorant and refuse them, but Scottish notes should be and usually are accepted at any shop in England.
2006-11-28 21:11:27 · answer #6 · answered by George D 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Here's another question: why do the bureaux de change at Belfast airport charge to convert Northern Ireland sterling into English sterling? It's outrageous.
2006-11-29 03:44:09 · answer #7 · answered by Dunrobin 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are acceptable in England just retailers in England get all confused and don't like accepting them.
As long as it says Sterling on it then you're OK.
2006-11-28 21:12:33 · answer #8 · answered by Darth Emiras 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The notes should be accepted anywhere. Don't take any rubbish from anyone.
2006-11-28 21:23:10 · answer #9 · answered by DeeDee 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
dont take my word for it but i always thought that if it is legal tender then thay have to except it as payment
2006-11-28 22:01:50 · answer #10 · answered by thfcdaza 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋