GBP: do you accept it? they don't!

somesoldiers

So I've been sent over to Guernsey this week, they don't take NI sterling notes here. They'll take mainland alright but issue change in Guernsey notes, when I get back to a gatwick they won't accept Guernsey or NI or Scottish I'm sure- what is the point of all these regional Sterling notes? The queen's head is on them all! Innit!

antodeco

Mainland? Sure most countries use Euro over there.

Senna

Issued by regional banks, not by the bank of England. They don't have to be accepted as legal tender. But banks anywhere in the UK will normally accept any sterling note.

Karl Stein

Someone will be along shortly to blame Sinn Féin.

Kevin McCloud

Have you any cards op?

anncoates

I blame Sinn Fein.

I'd assume UK banks will change regional sterling?

bjork

I blame Sinn Fein. The currency suppressing baxterds.

donvito99

Karl Stein wrote: »

Someone will be along shortly to blame Sinn Féin.

And someone will shortly already has leapt to defend them no matter what.

sigh

somesoldiers

Senna wrote: »

Issued by regional banks, not by the bank of England. They don't have to be accepted as legal tender. But banks anywhere in the UK will normally accept any sterling note.

Not in my experience, they will always turn nose up at NI in England, certainly in the Channel Islands, perhaps cashiers are unfamiliar & think the notes bogus?

hatrickpatrick

The Guernsey pound as a f*cking beautiful thing which economists and monetary policymakers around the world should take note of. It's perhaps the only currency (apart from Bitcoin) which is issued with no debt attached to it, and no "elastic band" to guarantee that it eventually finds its way back to the banks.

As far as I know, Guernsey have consequently never had a banking crisis on the scale of what the rest of the world has repeatedly experienced.

ballsymchugh

foreign exchange in gatwick will take the regional sterling for you.

Tin Foil Hat

It's hardly Sinn Fein's fault. They've never had a problem taking NI sterling.

jimmii

somesoldiers wrote: »

Not in my experience, they will always turn nose up at NI in England, certainly in the Channel Islands, perhaps cashiers are unfamiliar & think the notes bogus?

I had awful hassle in London trying tobuse Scottish notes the manager had to be called and everything all I wanted was a sandwich.

Venus In Furs

donvito99 wrote: »

And someone will shortly already has leapt to defend them no matter what.

sigh

What post on this thread is defending Sinn Féin?

somesoldiers

Kevin McCloud wrote: »

Have you any cards op?

Yeah have cards- am not stuck, just annoyed by the inconsistency or consistency really as it seems to be- right region have right currency!

bjork

Kevin McCloud wrote: »

Have you any cards op?

I don't think the jack of hearts works as legal currency over there either

WicklowTiger

Tesco express lane machines don't discriminate and give useable change!

somesoldiers

Am not stuck but thanks for starting a "Get Somesoldiers Home from Guernsey" fund all! Please redirect funds to a charity of your choice!

Chucken

Karl Stein wrote: »

Someone will be along shortly to blame Sinn Féin.

They ate my hamster.

Tail Docker

This is currency my least favorite thread.

Chucken

Tail Docker wrote: »

This is currency my least favorite thread.

It's fairly jammy alright.

Shelflife

I dont understand it, you can take your regional notes to the local bank and they will change it no hassle whatsoever. why then wont the local businesses take it and lodge it in the bank as normal.

By refusing to take it all they do is piss off the customer and lose sales.

Makes no sense at all.

Karl Stein

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll3uipTO-4A

Stheno

Most Irish banks accept them

SimonLynch

Shelflife wrote: »

I dont understand it, you can take your regional notes to the local bank and they will change it no hassle whatsoever. why then wont the local businesses take it and lodge it in the bank as normal.

By refusing to take it all they do is piss off the customer and lose sales.

Makes no sense at all.

Most cashiers are inexperienced and have already probably had a bollocking for taking a forged £20/€20 note, no chance they'll take Nordie notes. I used to get sporadic calls off my cashiers back in the 90s in England with a Northern note, asked for a description of the note and told them to check the silver strip ran through the note, never got caught but I had a bit of local knowledge.

shruikan2553

It makes no sense to me. Seeing as it is all sterling and £1 = £1 it is just annoying. Im going to England but I have NI pounds! Better get the sterling with a different picture on it because somehow businesses get confused by it.

donvito99

donvito99 wrote: »

And someone will shortly already has leapt to defend them no matter what.

sigh

Defend them from what exactly?

somesoldiers

Why can't they all just use the same version of GBP then?

Aside:from one of my fav shows, The Thin Blue Line ER extremely Royal or er in the palace!!

MistyCheese

That one time I was in Brighton a few years back they almost always looked twice at the NI notes. Always accepted them though.

Annasopra

Deleted User wrote: »

Defend them from what exactly?

Everything. Gerry Adams is the new Jesus.

The Backwards Man

I've never had a NI note refused anywhere in the UK

Alun

shruikan2553 wrote: »

It makes no sense to me. Seeing as it is all sterling and £1 = £1 it is just annoying. Im going to England but I have NI pounds! Better get the sterling with a different picture on it because somehow businesses get confused by it.

It's a bit more complicated than that. From http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/about/faqs.aspx#sandni ...

Are Scottish & Northern Ireland banknotes "legal tender"?
In short ‘No’ these banknotes are not "legal tender"; furthermore, Bank of England banknotes are only legal tender in England and Wales. Legal tender has, however, a very narrow technical meaning in relation to the settlement of debt. If a debtor pays in legal tender the exact amount he/she owes under the terms of a contract (and in accordance with its terms), or pays this amount into court, he/she has good defence in law if he/she is sued for non-payment of the debt.

In ordinary everyday transactions, the term "legal tender" in its purest sense need not govern a banknote's acceptability in transactions. The acceptability of a Scottish or Northern Ireland banknote as a means of payment is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved. If both parties are in agreement, Scottish and Northern Ireland banknotes can be used in England and Wales. Holders of genuine Scottish and Northern Ireland banknotes are provided with a level of protection similar to that provided to holders of Bank of England banknotes. This is because the issuing banks must back their banknote issue using a combination of Bank of England banknotes, UK coin and funds in an interest bearing bank account at the Bank of England.

So basically if a retailer in England or Wales doesn't want to accept a Scottish or NI bank note then they don't have to. Usually I find Scottish notes not to be a problem, especially in the north of England where they crop up fairly commonly simply due to their physical proximity, so retailers are somewhat familiar with them. NI notes are far less common, so are unlikely to be accepted.

One big problem is the number of different banks issuing notes, as opposed to just the one in England and Wales, 3 in Scotland and 4 in NI, all with very different designs.

somesoldiers

Stheno wrote: »

Most Irish banks accept them

most Irish banks near where I work don't even take euros....Cashless banks. I lodged cash in the quick lodge one day and it sat in their safe for a week until I went looking for it

Wabbit Ears

In my travels Ive had NI notes not accepted in England, Gibraltar Sterling not accepted anywhere and Scottish notes not accepted in NI.

Dravokivich

shruikan2553 wrote: »

It makes no sense to me. Seeing as it is all sterling and £1 = £1 it is just annoying. Im going to England but I have NI pounds! Better get the sterling with a different picture on it because somehow businesses get confused by it.

happened to me in Derby a few years ago. Guy behind the bar was unsure if he should accept them because they were Irish. Told him we use Euros, Sterling is UK money and I'm in the UK. His manager agreed with me

bear1

Would it not be just easier to replace these local Pounds with the BOE version?

somesoldiers

would have thought so, surely from an economies of scale perspective it makes more sense to have the BOE print all, surely they are all under the same tax regime so it makes no odds which part of the UK you spend the cash in or who printed them other than to the poor bewildered lad behind the counter

also I was unable to source bubble and squeak, toad in the hole and didn't get a tin of tomatoes on my brekkie....

Disappointed in Guernsey

Fratton Fred

somesoldiers wrote: »

would have thought so, surely from an economies of scale perspective it makes more sense to have the BOE print all, surely they are all under the same tax regime so it makes no odds which part of the UK you spend the cash in or who printed them other than to the poor bewildered lad behind the counter

also I was unable to source bubble and squeak, toad in the hole and didn't get a tin of tomatoes on my brekkie....

Disappointed in Guernsey

It would just give the Scots something else to whinge about.

Michael D Not Higgins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYAjshQA2ms

Obligatory

seamus

What the hell is this nonsense?

UK forum tbh ---->

FTA69

F*cking nonsense to be honest. This has happened to me countless times over here with Irish and Scottish sterling. I think it's something to do with how it's banked at the end of the week. When I worked in a pub we used to put the Irish/Scottish notes in a different section of the till.

I got stuck with a few Northern Bank notes and there's always some muppet in Sainsbury's or wherever who'll react as if you handed them a used sanitary towel as opposed to a legally-tendered note.

Alun

FTA69 wrote: »

I got stuck with a few Northern Bank notes and there's always some muppet in Sainsbury's or wherever who'll react as if you handed them a used sanitary towel as opposed to a legally-tendered note.

No such thing. Banknotes, any banknotes, may be accepted by a retailer for a transaction, but they're under no obligation to do so. See my post above quoted from the Bank of England website, or this from an article in the Guardian.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/sep/12/can-i-spend-scottish-money-england

The Association of Commercial Banknote Issuers states: "The term 'legal tender' has very little practical meaning as far as ordinary, everyday transactions are concerned, and it has no bearing on the acceptability of authorised banknotes as a means of payment …" Crucially, it adds: "The acceptability of any means of payment, including banknotes, is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved."

A bit daft, agreed, but that's the way it is, and considering the relatively low number of NI notes an average English shop will see, and the fact that there are 4 different banks that issue them, all with different designs, I can't say I blame them for being cautious.

Colinf1212

Wabbit Ears wrote: »

In my travels Ive had NI notes not accepted in England, Gibraltar Sterling not accepted anywhere and Scottish notes not accepted in NI.

Scottish notes are accepted here from my experience. I've came across them countless times. Pretty sure I got handed a Scottish fiver yesterday.

FTA69

Alun wrote: »

No such thing. Banknotes, any banknotes, may be accepted by a retailer for a transaction, but they're under no obligation to do so. See my post above quoted from the Bank of England website, or this from an article in the Guardian.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/sep/12/can-i-spend-scottish-money-england

Whatever. It's the same f*cking money. If a person born and raised in England is unaware that Scotland and Northern Ireland are part of the UK and produce their own version of the same currency then I despair.

Richard

somesoldiers wrote: »

So I've been sent over to Guernsey this week, they don't take NI sterling notes here. They'll take mainland alright but issue change in Guernsey notes, when I get back to a gatwick they won't accept Guernsey or NI or Scottish I'm sure- what is the point of all these regional Sterling notes? The queen's head is on them all! Innit!

Gatwick should accept NI or Scottish notes - they at least say "Sterling" which I don't think Guernsey, Jersey or IOM notes do.

A Dub in Glasgo

FTA69 wrote: »

Whatever. It's the same f*cking money. If a person born and raised in England is unaware that Scotland and Northern Ireland are part of the UK and produce their own version of the same currency then I despair.

Prepare to be in continuous dispair

Victor

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

The Guernsey pound as a f*cking beautiful thing which economists and monetary policymakers around the world should take note of. It's perhaps the only currency (apart from Bitcoin) which is issued with no debt attached to it, and no "elastic band" to guarantee that it eventually finds its way back to the banks.

As far as I know, Guernsey have consequently never had a banking crisis on the scale of what the rest of the world has repeatedly experienced.

Actually, I understand all Guernsey pounds are tied directly to debt. The Guernsey government issues Guernsey pounds instead of borrowing money. It still needs to be repaid.

Guernsey population (2012 estimate) 65,345.

Currency tied to Sterling, used by more than 60 million people.

Do you realise how bad things would need to get for Guernsey to cause a currency crisis?

hatrickpatrick

Victor wrote: »

Actually, I understand all Guernsey pounds are tied directly to debt. The Guernsey government issues Guernsey pounds instead of borrowing money. It still needs to be repaid.

Guernsey population (2012 estimate) 65,345.

Currency tied to Sterling, used by more than 60 million people.

Do you realise how bad things would need to get for Guernsey to cause a currency crisis?

As far as I know though, Guernsey pounds are issued without initial interest? Could be wrong about this?
Always thought that Guernsey was one of the only currency systems without built-in inflation, as money created by the government does not have interest attached to it from the start like money created by central banks?