Bank of England-older pound notes

[TW6cruiser]

We traveled to the UK in 2019...and I had some leftover currency.  I have two 20 pound and one 50 pound notes that are now "old"....I had kept them as we travel but with COVID of course we had some time not traveling. We will be flying into LHR and spending a night in Southampton prior to a Norway cruise.  Any suggestion from a local as to if these notes will be useable or any place to quickly trade them in? 

 

 

 

[robin13]

My mother gave me some left over pound paper notes from probably 15 years ago.  I had read that you couldn't use the paper notes anymore but I thought I would try.  I was in a store trying to buy some water at Heathrow and sure enough the guy said he couldn't' accept them.  I did read where you could take them to a bank and they would give you the new plastic pound notes.  You might want to try that in Southhampton as you have almost $117.  

[logan25]

Quite a coincidence this question should be asked since I just encountered the issue of “old paper pounds” on my last cruise.  My “old” 20£ note (circa 2006) was declined as legal tender by a Southampton restaurant.

 

Furthermore, it was suggested by the refuser that I exchange the note at a local bank.  I attempted to do just that but was refused by the bank employee.  I was told exchanges are only available to accout holders.  
 

As a non-account holder, I was told the exchange could only be made at a Bank of London branch, in London.  My circumstance did not allow me to travel into London for the sole purpose of a money exchange.  If that even works!

 

Anyone else able to offer a solution to those in possession of “old” pound notes?

[gumshoe958]

Banks and post offices will only accept them if you have an account with them.

 

Technically, if you just want to exchange them you have to take them to the Bank of England in London. 

The obvious workaround would be to ask a British friend to exchange them for you, then they can pay them into their bank account.

[logan25]

9 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

Banks and post offices will only accept them if you have an account with them.

 

Technically, if you just want to exchange them you have to take them to the Bank of England in London. 

The obvious workaround would be to ask a British friend to exchange them for you, then they can pay them into their bank account.

What you suggest has logic.  But how many of us have British friends kind enough to take on this task?  I might have one but no way to know when I shall see them again.

[TW6cruiser]

Thanks for those who have responded so far even though it does not look like I have a good solution.  Hopefully there is another answer, or maybe a hotel employee will help.    I will not be in London.  I was trying to be a good tourist in 2019  by getting local currency and not relying on just credit cards. With COVID putting a halt to some travels I don’t think it’s fair to tourists to go to the Bank of London.  I’m glad I don’t have a lot.   

[Harters]

2 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

echnically, if you just want to exchange them you have to take them to the Bank of England in London. 

You can also exchange them at certain Post Offices. This link may help

 

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/banknote-exchange

[gumshoe958]

3 minutes ago, Harters said:

You can also exchange them at certain Post Offices. This link may help

 

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/banknote-exchange

Sadly not in Southampton though. Portsmouth and Bournemouth are the nearest.

[TW6cruiser]

5 minutes ago, Harters said:

You can also exchange them at certain Post Offices. This link may help

 

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/banknote-exchange

Thanks.  There are none in Southampton that have that service.  Closest ones are at least 1/2 hour away and given the small amount I  do have, I'd end up loosing it in cab fare there and back.  

[markeb]

The post office works very well, but there needs to be one nearby. We were able to exchange last week in St James, in London. Five minutes and we were going to be in the area anyway. Different story if you're not going to be near a participating post office.

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 hour ago, TW6cruiser said:

I was trying to be a good tourist in 2019  by getting local currency and not relying on just credit cards.

I’m curious how this makes one “a good tourist”?

No one appears to have mentioned the option to send the notes into the Bank of England by post. They will pay the sterling amount into an overseas bank account, but of course there will be foreign exchange rates and possibly bank fees at your end. But probably your best back up - prepare the documents in advance and mail them in Southampton, if nothing else works. 
Personally, I’d pop over to Portsmouth on the train and visit some of the attractions there, making a day of it!

All options are detailed here: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes

Edited July 16, 2023 by Cotswold Eagle

[TW6cruiser]

1 hour ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

I’m curious how this makes one “a good tourist”?

No one appears to have mentioned the option to send the notes into the Bank of England by post. They will pay the sterling amount into an overseas bank account, but of course there will be foreign exchange rates and possibly bank fees at your end. But probably your best back up - prepare the documents in advance and mail them in Southampton, if nothing else works. 
Personally, I’d pop over to Portsmouth on the train and visit some of the attractions there, making a day of it!

All options are detailed here: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes

I meant I am not a US citizen who thinks that the US dollar is accepted everywhere.    Given the amount, a bit over $100 US, I'm not going to hassle with post/mailing fees.  And we don't have time to go to Portsmouth.  

[TiiiSailor]

I guess I was lucky.  I was staying in a small northern suburb of London three weeks ago.  I went into a local bank and asked what I needed to do to exchange the old paper money for new, spendable money.  He told me what is discussed above, then asked me how much I had?  It was 60 pounds.  He looked at the clerk next to him and said, "I don't see anything." and gave me new plastic money.  Didn't realize how lucky I was to have that happen.  

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 hour ago, TW6cruiser said:

I meant I am not a US citizen who thinks that the US dollar is accepted everywhere.    Given the amount, a bit over $100 US, I'm not going to hassle with post/mailing fees.  And we don't have time to go to Portsmouth.  

But you were talking about using cash instead of a credit card (which would be charged in sterling) 🤷‍♂️

 

Anyhow, if you're not prepared to spend a couple of minutes filling out a form, copying two bits of ID and the time it takes to pop Into a post office in Southampton to mail them off, then I think you are all out of options, I'm afraid. It really doesn't  seem that much of a hassle to me, even for a relatively small amount. 

Edited July 16, 2023 by Cotswold Eagle

[TW6cruiser]

9 minutes ago, TiiiSailor said:

I guess I was lucky.  I was staying in a small northern suburb of London three weeks ago.  I went into a local bank and asked what I needed to do to exchange the old paper money for new, spendable money.  He told me what is discussed above, then asked me how much I had?  It was 60 pounds.  He looked at the clerk next to him and said, "I don't see anything." and gave me new plastic money.  Didn't realize how lucky I was to have that happen.  

Maybe I’ll give it a try! Thanks.  

[Cotswold Eagle]

10 minutes ago, TiiiSailor said:

I guess I was lucky.  I was staying in a small northern suburb of London three weeks ago.  I went into a local bank and asked what I needed to do to exchange the old paper money for new, spendable money.  He told me what is discussed above, then asked me how much I had?  It was 60 pounds.  He looked at the clerk next to him and said, "I don't see anything." and gave me new plastic money.  Didn't realize how lucky I was to have that happen.  

Some banks do have a policy of doing small exchanges for non-customers, even though they don't have to. Do you remember which one you used? I believe Virgin Money may do it, and the Halifax - both of which have branches in Southampton that the OP could try. But there is no guarantee, I'm afraid. 

Edited July 16, 2023 by Cotswold Eagle

[TiiiSailor]

1 hour ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Some banks do have a policy of doing small exchanges for non-customers, even though they don't have to. Do you remember which one you used? I believe Virgin Money may do it, and the Halifax - both of which have branches in Southampton that the OP could try. But there is no guarantee, I'm afraid. 

I don’t remember the name of the bank. I had just tried to make a purchase in a store with a combination of old and new money, but ended up using a credit card. Walked into a bank I was passing to use the ATM and thought I’d ask if they’d change the old for new. 

[TouchstoneFeste]

I finally left mine as a tip in a restaurant, but it was only 10 pounds, Just transferring the problem to someone else, but at least it was someone with a local bank.

[phabric]

A few years ago, I had £800 in £50 from my CDN bank.  We were staying in Winchester for a few days.  I went to 2 banks asking if I could get smaller £ as I don’t like carrying large demonstrations. Both said I had to have a bank account with them.  I went into another place and she was happy to exchange into small £.

[Globaliser]

5 hours ago, TouchstoneFeste said:

I finally left mine as a tip in a restaurant, but it was only 10 pounds, Just transferring the problem to someone else, but at least it was someone with a local bank.

 

If you have a UK bank account, it doesn't really even count as a problem. A few weeks ago, purely out of curiosity, I tried to pay some old notes in to my bank account using an ATM. I was expecting the machine to reject them, but to my surprise it didn't and the deposit completed straight away. It was easier and faster than queueing up at the counter.

[TouchstoneFeste]

4 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

If you have a UK bank account, it doesn't really even count as a problem. A few weeks ago, purely out of curiosity, I tried to pay some old notes in to my bank account using an ATM. I was expecting the machine to reject them, but to my surprise it didn't and the deposit completed straight away. It was easier and faster than queueing up at the counter.

Thanks! I feel better ...

[matamanoa]

We ran into the same problem on our last trip to the UK.  Fortunately we were with friends who live there and we were able to deposit the old bank notes into her account and then she withdrew the money to give to us.  So, you have to be an account holder to exchange the old for new notes.  Other than that, you need to go to the Bank of England in London and you can get new notes for your old ones.  It certainly is not being made easy to get rid of the older bank notes.

 

Barb

[fruitmachine]

1 hour ago, matamanoa said:

We ran into the same problem on our last trip to the UK.  Fortunately we were with friends who live there and we were able to deposit the old bank notes into her account and then she withdrew the money to give to us.  So, you have to be an account holder to exchange the old for new notes.  Other than that, you need to go to the Bank of England in London and you can get new notes for your old ones.  It certainly is not being made easy to get rid of the older bank notes.

 

Barb

Your friend risks triggering anti-money laundering (AML) checks.  For one off or occasional relatively low value transactions, then it's unlikely to ever be a problem, but worth knowing about should anyone else reading this consider it.

 

AML is a key reason the Post Office service is limited to £300 every two years.

[matamanoa]

1 minute ago, fruitmachine said:

Your friend risks triggering anti-money laundering (AML) checks.  For one off or occasional relatively low value transactions, then it's unlikely to ever be a problem, but worth knowing about should anyone else reading this consider it.

 

AML is a key reason the Post Office service is limited to £300 every two years.

It was a very small amount but good to know all the parameters.

[Globaliser]

44 minutes ago, fruitmachine said:

Your friend risks triggering anti-money laundering (AML) checks.  For one off or occasional relatively low value transactions, then it's unlikely to ever be a problem, but worth knowing about should anyone else reading this consider it.

 

I suspect that the amounts being discussed in this thread are highly unlikely to trigger AML interest. It's well within most ordinary people's lives to have an occasional need for a couple of hundred pounds of cash on hand, only to find that it wasn't spent after all.