Legal tender

We don't have any problems here in the North East with Scottish bank notes, but everytime my sister comes she makes sure that she isn't given one in her change as they won't accept them in the Midlands where she lives.

This is interesting. No banknote is 'legal tender' north of the Border but they are 'legal currency'.

www.scotbanks.org.uk/legal_position.php

“The term legal tender does not in itself govern the acceptability of banknotes in transactions. Whether or not notes have legal tender status, their acceptability as a means of payment is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved. Legal tender has a very narrow technical meaning in relation to the settlement of debt. If a debtor pays in legal tender the exact amount he owes under the terms of a contract, he has good defence in law if he is subsequently sued for non-payment of the debt. In ordinary everyday transactions, the term ‘legal tender’ has very little practical application.”
(Ref. www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/faqs.htm.)

I am on holiday in Norwich spending my Scottish bank notes and have no bother with them. It is true that officially they are not legal tender in Scotland.

Guess what? Scottish bank notes aren't actually legal tender here in Scotland either. Don't know how that works, but I believe it to be true . When I get an English note in my change I keep it in a holiday drawer and then I have a wad of painless holiday money for holidays in England or even for passing through London if we're going by Eurostar. And because they come from change they're usually fivers, which makes you popular in small shops rather than offering a twenty.

I've never had a problem either accepting a Scottish note in my change or paying with one in England. I just hadn't realised that a shop, hairdresser, tradesman, etc. can perfectly legally refuse to accept one as it isn't legal tender in England (or Wales).

I've never had any trouble using them or the NI ones but might now I live in the country.

I was always under that impression too absent in fact I saw a bill being paid in Liverpool just yesterday using Scottish £20 notes.

I read that too, absent - but apparently most shops will actually take them in payment.

Most places that see a reasonable number of tourists will accept them though.

If they don't, give them my Dad's reply - "It's OK, it's real - I made it myself yesterday"