Train travel in England-What website to prebook?

[chiaro di Luna]

Thanks to everyone! A new question: currency. I have some British money (bills/notes) from several years ago and the last time I tried to use them I was told they were no longer accepting them in stores or restaurants. Is there a deadline to take them to a bank/currency exchange to change them in to the newer bills/nots. Saw this posted recently:
https://ca.hellomagazine.com/news/2018020245993/old-ten-pound-notes-out-of-circulation/

 

[veronicafrance]

Old fivers and old pound coins are no longer accepted, but you can still change them in banks (I did so last month). The old ten pound notes cease to be accepted on 1 March, but again you can still change them in banks after that. I certainly didn't have to show any ID, not sure why you would have to do that.

 

[Mom83]

We will be returning to Oxford this coming October bringing with us our U.K. currency left over from our visit to Wales and England in July, 2016. Will we still be able to go to a bank in Oxford to exchange any of our currency that is no longer current or is there an earlier deadline to do this?

 

[veronicafrance]

There is no deadline for exchanging these at banks.

 

[Mom83]

Thank you, Veronica!

 

[Eleanor]

The notes are no longer legal tender. The Bank of England on Threadneedle street is the only place you can exchange them now. This can either be done in person or by post. All the details are here.

Banks, Building Societies and the Post Office are not legally required to accept old notes. Some may be willing to IF you have an account with them and are depositing them into it.

 

[Pauline]

I removed Chiaro di Luna's replies which were quotes of other replies. She is having a problem accessing the forums from her iPad.

 

[veronicafrance]

The notes are no longer legal tender. The Bank of England on Threadneedle street is the only place you can exchange them now. This can either be done in person or by post. All the details are here.

Banks, Building Societies and the Post Office are not legally required to accept old notes. Some may be willing to IF you have an account with them and are depositing them into it.

That's interesting, it must explain why my aunt had such a palaver trying to exchange a single old tenner last week. The bank wouldn't do it unless she had an account with them. Which she didn't, as she lives in France. In the end she had to get a friend to pay it into her own bank account. That seems a very short time allowance for exchanging at high street banks -- they only stopped being legal tender a couple of months ago.

Oh, and why does the UK keep changing its notes and coins? We just can't keep up, every time we go we find ourselves with something that isn't legal tender.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hi Veronica
The simple answer for the changes is to bring greater anti-fraud technology in.

The cheeky answer is to anger vegetarians even more (the new notes use tallow, an animal 'product').

Regards
Ian

 

[chiaro di Luna]

Here is what we did: In Oxford in a variety store behind Old Parsonage hotel where we stayed there was a post office. They changed our 5, 10 GBP notes to the new ones, no fee.
In Harrods Knightsbridge currency exchange they changed our 2 - 50 GBP notes for the new ones, charged a 10 pound fee. (easier for us then getting across city in limited time we had. Old coins changed at corner bank in London-no account there and no fee.

 

[chiaro di Luna]

We were very pleased with our decision to use the Oxford airline bus from LHR (T2) - OXFORD GLOUCHESTER GREEN station. very easy to find signs, pay in Central bus station (cheaper ten buying from driver) and did not have any problem getting a seat.
Used the London Tube bus to get from Oxford to London Marlborough, the taxi to Le Meridien Piccadilly. My mode of transportation in England now will be the buses. Took bus arranged by cruiseline from London Victoria Station to Southampton, then back to LHR a week later.