UK currency and £50 notes.

[dallen52]

Not sure if this has surfaced before, but just back in the UK and problems with the £50 notes.

 

I finished up with several when exchanging thbt. To £ recently. 

And in the UK they do not have to accept them.

Or they can accept but decline to pay you the change...

Was in a pub the other night and the landlord quite categorically said he doesn't have to accept them. 

So I didn't get a drink, and had to leave.

 

Mighty strange state of affairs, not to mention the new £1 coin, and the old ones are not legal tender now.

Plus the new £5/£10 polymer notes.

Paper are no longer excepted..

 

Watch out for what the money sellers give you here, if you need to purchase UK currency. 

[wgdanson]

Fifty pound notes are legal tender so everyone should accept them. I guess some businesses are scared that if they get a forgery, they lose 50 instead of 10 or 20. The old £1 coins, fivers and tenner went out of circulation earlier in the year. I arrived at LHR with only 'old' money and had to go to ATM to get new ones. You can still change tham at banks.

[dallen52]

17 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Fifty pound notes are legal tender so everyone should accept them. I guess some businesses are scared that if they get a forgery, they lose 50 instead of 10 or 20. The old £1 coins, fivers and tenner went out of circulation earlier in the year. I arrived at LHR with only 'old' money and had to go to ATM to get new ones. You can still change tham at banks.

I did a read and it's apparently to do with law of contracts, forgery etc.

Shops and business owners don't have to accept your custom.

And if he thinks the £50 is a dodgy one, he is obligated to keep it..

 

Quote.. re £50 notes.

 

As already stated he can refuse to serve you for any reason he wants to, whther he thinks you look shifty or he doesnt like the colour of your shirt.

If he is not confident enough to accept a £50, he is well within his rights to refuse on that basis. I imagine he asked so many people to look at it, just to back himself up. Your obvious frustration, probably just added to his concerns.

Also, a contract is not formed until he actually accepts the money.

 

 

There is no legal requirement on them to accept the £50 note but a lot of the bigger shops will accept it after some umming and ahhing. However, little stores are unlikely to accept is as they can't risk a £50 loss. One thing you should not do is go in to any place and ask to exchange it

[cleopatra2]

Legal tender only refers to the settling of debts.

Method of payment is  what is agreed between   the parties involved in the transaction. 

[Snow Leopard]

They are a pain. If I am changing money into sterling I won't accept them form the currency changer. I have had them before though. Anyone who can scan a note will change it, Bank or Post Office to get it broken down. All other notes and coins can be changed in a bank. 

[blackcab]

I regularly use £50 notes in the UK and the only problem I have ever had is that TfL machines do not accept them, so you cannot top up your oyster card at the machine with a £50 note. Also self service checkouts in places like Tescos do not take £50 notes.

 

I never had a problem using them in person however. Old bank notes and £1 coins can be swapped or deposited at a bank.

[KittenKong]

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes

 

[rott]

There's is a difference between legal tender and acceptable tender. If those notes are no longer issued they possibly become the latter not the former.