I had a bit of a set to with the owner of The Merrymeade in Sandford Peverall when he tried to refuse a scottish twenty pound note. He claimed that Scottisah note are not legal tender, but then admitted that the banks will accept them. Given the current economic climate you might well think that anyone in business would be glad to get their hands on any sort of note that the banks would accept. He did eventually take the note.
Having lived in Scotland for a long time I know that what does more damage to the union between England and Scotland amongst ordinary scots than stories about scottish notes not being accepted in England. Luckily this is much less common then it used to be but still annoys people no end.
Perhaps people who quibble about accepting Scottish notes should remember that the Bank Of England was founded by a scot.
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2 comments:
The owner of the Merrymeade is actually quite correct, Scottish bank notes are not legal tender in England - only in Scotland. Neither are Northern Irish, Isle of Man or Channel Island Notes. All are legal tender only in their own countries. However, all UK banks will readilly accept Scottish notes so I agree that he was daft to refuse them. Incidentally, Bank of England notes are legal tender in Scotland. I can remember as a kid that some unscrupulous retailers would only offer 19/6d for a Scottish £1 note. Now that really was a con.
He is correct in part, they are not legal tender, they are "accepted tender".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_tender#In_the_United_Kingdom
"Creditors are obliged to accept any "reasonable" settlement of the debt, be it banknotes (Scottish, English or otherwise), coins, cheques or even (in theory) property. In the event of a dispute, it would fall to a court to decide what "reasonable" meant in the circumstances."
So if you had offered to pay using the note and he refused to accept it then you have just received a free drink.
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