Changing money in the UK

[notdeadyet]

What's the best way of changing foreign currency back into GBP? Do high street bureaux de change still exist? It's been years since I've had to do it, I can't remember the last time I came back from a trip and had any cash left that was worth changing. But due to not paying attention when getting some money out to pay for a bus ticket at an airport in Poland (clicked the 1000PLN option instead of the 100PLN) I'm left with about £120 worth of Zloty.

Where do you go to change money where you won't get humped? Presumably travel agents will shaft you?

[Dave1w]

I think every company in the uK will shaft you. In Asia I used to get great rates at any kiosk outsid eteh airport wher eit owuld be ike plus or minus 2 whether you are buying or selling. Now, I just use my card where I can safely and minimum of cash.

[Divemouse]

Post office?

[notdeadyet]

Now, I just use my card where I can safely and minimum of cash.

Me too, especially in Europe. I usually take out some walking around money, 20 quid's worth or so and when it's gone it's gone. This was a mistake at the ATM when I was in a hurry. Ended up with £200 instead of the £20 I expected.

[notdeadyet]

Post office?

Do we still have post offices? :D

It looks like the best option. Either that or try and flog it to one of the Polish people at work.

[jamesp]

Me too, especially in Europe. I usually take out some walking around money, 20 quid's worth or so and when it's gone it's gone. This was a mistake at the ATM when I was in a hurry.

Polish skelp and ask around?

Toss up between kiosk in local Tesco and post office.

Ski trip last year, my "walking around" money ran to several £k; in case we had to get creative getting back (or not bothering) if Putin went berserk(er) /nuclear.

I think we drank a large chunk of it in Valdisere in January, don`t need much for the next trip though.

[Chrisch]

Supermarkets not too bad if you have a loyalty card. If you keep it a few more years it will be worth £2,000 ;)

[Woz]

Just pop it in a drawer in a clear plastic ziploc bag with the Nokia 3310 charger and the Greek Drachma. And get a Starling account for travel. No transaction fees.

[Simples !]

I could buy Polish currency from you, going home for Easter, unfortunately I am in London area. 120 PLN it's £22, you will be lucky if you get £18 at the Post Office etc.

Sent from my H8314 using Tapatalk

[notdeadyet]

I could buy Polish currency from you, going home for Easter, unfortunately I am in London area. 120 PLN it's £22, you will be lucky if you get £18 at the Post Office etc.

Sent from my H8314 using Tapatalk

120 is GBP, it's about 650PLN. Ta but I imagine the postage costs would wipe out any savings, probably less hassle just to go to the PO and take the hit. Thanks all the same.

[notdeadyet]

If you keep it a few more years it will be worth £2,000 ;)

I still don't get the appeal of the UK. Sure I'm only seeing a very superficial side of it but Poland seems a far nicer, pleasanter country than here.

I know, I know, if you like it so much then F-O there... I wonder if it annoys the gammons that they can't use that line any more?

[Chrisch]

I still don't get the appeal of the UK. Sure I'm only seeing a very superficial side of it but Poland seems a far nicer, pleasanter country than here.

I know, I know, if you like it so much then F-O there... I wonder if it annoys the gammons that they can't use that line any more?

Both countries have their good and bad points. Poland has a very dark underbelly and you might feel differently about it if you were affected by those issues. The UK is not really one place (as you well know) - Scotland and England are quite different.

Listening to the neo-Nazi home secretary and her friends tell us that the UK is "full" I would have thought that the government would pay for people to leave, as it is they only pay if you want to go to Rwanda. It is sadly part of a world wide trend and not just here. There were racist demonstrations in Dublin recently about immigration. It would be funny, given the Irish diaspora around the planet if it wasn't so unpleasant. It feels like the far right are trying to take over everywhere and everything. At least the ozzies got rid of Morrison.

[notdeadyet]

Scotland and England are quite different.

Yeah but until I can be officially Scottish when I'm travelling instead of having to add it like a caveat then I'm stuck with the shitty UK label.

[Chrisch]

Yeah but until I can be officially Scottish when I'm travelling instead of having to add it like a caveat then I'm stuck with the shitty UK label.

I am English. I do not understand what collective noun is correct for the UK. Some folk say "British" but it is innacurate. Then there are the half-arsed 'British' places like Gib or the Malvinas. Not stricly in the UK but could be "British" so "British" is not the same as UK citizen. Clearly there is no word, official or otherwise to indicate UK citizen other than "UK citizen", which is a long winded thing indeed.

I think I will remain English. If I were Scottish I think I would remain Scottish. I might move there (it is nice, well a fair bit of it) and I can be an English ex-pat.

[MarkA]

Have used M&S and John Lewis before. The queue at the post office is too annoying.

If I thought I would go back to the country or is USD or EUR, would normally just keep it.

The last holiday used card for almost everything, including the Uber back to the airport. Used a fee free debit card for some money from an airport ATM.

[smileydiver]

Not sure where you are based but I use these guys and their partner company Best Foreign Exchange as their rates are usually decent: https://www.thomasexchangeglobal.co.uk/

[Paulo]

Find a Pole you know that is going to visit home

[MarkA]

I am English. I do not understand what collective noun is correct for the UK. Some folk say "British" but it is innacurate. Then there are the half-arsed 'British' places like Gib or the Malvinas. Not stricly in the UK but could be "British" so "British" is not the same as UK citizen. Clearly there is no word, official or otherwise to indicate UK citizen other than "UK citizen", which is a long winded thing indeed.

I think I will remain English. If I were Scottish I think I would remain Scottish. I might move there (it is nice, well a fair bit of it) and I can be an English ex-pat.

My passport says “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” . More than once at immigration I have been asked if I am from Ireland. What a mouthful for a country name.

Never been to Gibraltar or southern Atlantic islands. Mrs MarkA got some stamps in her passport from the tourist office in Ushuaia that were a little too political for me.

Tend to write British when the immigration form asks for nationality. Just use what works. The passport says “British Citizen”.

Suppose I’m an ex-pat. But somewhere I can wear shorts and T-shirt all year round.

[jb2cool]

We tend to use Sainsbury’s for our currency needs but have used M&S in the past too. Sainsbury’s tend to have pretty good rates and the convenience factor is worth a bit to us too.

[Allan Carr]

Me too, especially in Europe. I usually take out some walking around money, 20 quid's worth or so and when it's gone it's gone. This was a mistake at the ATM when I was in a hurry. Ended up with £200 instead of the £20 I expected.

I did a similar thing in Prague. However, my wife found a rather nice cut crystal vase which consumed the excess!

[Chrisch]

....
Tend to write British when the immigration form asks for nationality. Just use what works. The passport says “British Citizen”.



I always write "UK" for nationality, but then I am an annoying pedant ;) (It is shorter to write as well)

If asked verbally I am inglish 'cos ingerlind is the nation and the UK is the country and wot I speak is inglish.

[jamesp]

I always write "UK" for nationality, but then I am an annoying pedant ;) (It is shorter to write as well)

If asked verbally I am inglish 'cos ingerlind is the nation and the UK is the country and wot I speak is inglish.

I was skiing in France, in January; end of day beer in the Danish bar got talking to a group at the table next to us.
One clocked may accent and asked if I speak Welsh, turned out they were from Ruthin; the look of puzzlement when I replied to the negative, as they processed the answer and came back with "But you answered in Welsh".

I am British.

Born and Live in Wales, I have always thought the puzzlement of what the country as a totality is called, UK, United Kingdom, GB, Great Britain, or ingerlund to all the ignorant twats that live outside of Scotland, N. Ireland or Wales; showed a major part of the problem.

[snattrass]

Back to the topic of changing money. I've stopped using actual currency where possible and use a Revolut card. Load some £, exchange without fees and using an interbank exchange rate, pay in the local currency, exchange any unused money back to £ and back into my bank account when I return. The card and app has loads of other bells and whistles which I don't use and I stay within the limits of the free account. There are other cards which are similar - Wise, Chase etc...

[Chrisch]

...I have always thought the puzzlement of what the country as a totality is called, UK, United Kingdom, GB, Great Britain, or ingerlund to all the ignorant twats that live outside of Scotland, N. Ireland or Wales; showed a major part of the problem.

Given the halfwit BBC start the RNLI program with "we are an island nation" it is not surprising that people are so totally clueless about their own country.

As to the topic (sorry for my digression) does one need to change Scottish money to spend in inglind? :D

[Woz]

Given the halfwit BBC start the RNLI program with "we are an island nation" it is not surprising that people are so totally clueless about their own country.

As to the topic (sorry for my digression) does one need to change Scottish money to spend in inglind? :D

I'll have you know that's legal tender.

[steelemonkey]

Scottish banknotes are unusual, first because they are issued by retail banks, not government central banks, and second, because they are technically not legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom.

Wikipedia.

[MikeF]

Scottish banknotes are unusual, first because they are issued by retail banks, not government central banks, and second, because they are technically not legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom.

Wikipedia.

nor apparently are bank of england notes legal tender in scotland


Scottish banknotes are unusual, first because they are issued by retail banks, not government central banks, and second, because they are technically not legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom. Scottish bank notes are not legal tender even in Scotland, where, in law, no banknotes, even those issued by the Bank of England, are defined as legal tender.[2][3] Formally, they are classified as promissory notes, and the law requires that the issuing banks hold a sum of Bank of England banknotes or gold equivalent to the total value of notes issued.[4]

[Chrisch]

There are all sorts of 'pounds' if you look carefully and you can exchange them. (See back on topic)

https://www.leftovercurrency.com/exchange/falkland-islands-pounds/current-falkland-islands-pounds-banknotes/5-falkland-islands-pounds-banknote/

These chaps will buy Stuart's Polish loot too.

[Paul Evans]

nor apparently are bank of england notes legal tender in scotland


Scottish banknotes are unusual, first because they are issued by retail banks, not government central banks, and second, because they are technically not legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom. Scottish bank notes are not legal tender even in Scotland, where, in law, no banknotes, even those issued by the Bank of England, are defined as legal tender.[2][3] Formally, they are classified as promissory notes, and the law requires that the issuing banks hold a sum of Bank of England banknotes or gold equivalent to the total value of notes issued.[4]

Where is Scotland's Fort Knox? :)

[steelemonkey]

Where is Scotland's Fort Knox? :)

Do you mean "Where is all the money stored in Scotland?"
Easy, Greggs.

[notdeadyet]

Where is Scotland's Fort Knox? :)

The nations don't have a gold reserve, only the UK does. And thanks to Gordon Brown that is kept in a shoe box in a cupboard in the BoE. Uzbekistan and Portugal own more gold than we do. And Gordo also helped allow China become the world's biggest gold buyer.

[jamesp]

Given the halfwit BBC start the RNLI program with "we are an island nation" it is not surprising that people are so totally clueless about their own country.

As to the topic (sorry for my digression) does one need to change Scottish money to spend in inglind? :D

I seem to Recall a Minister of the name Raab, who was surprised by this fact.

[Chrisch]

The nations don't have a gold reserve, only the UK does. And thanks to Gordon Brown that is kept in a shoe box in a cupboard in the BoE. Uzbekistan and Portugal own more gold than we do. And Gordo also helped allow China become the world's biggest gold buyer.

We currently have 310 tonnes. (And ergo very very big feet :D)

Brown's only mistake was letting the Mail lie that somehow he was making a critical error in selling at the time he did. He should have sold Rothermere to the Saudis for buzkashi. The real sell off of the pointless metal was much earlier. The UK runs a large balance of payments deficit as a result of the lack of industry and over reliance on services. We need to sell off things regularly in order to pay for the imports. This is why so much of the UK is owned by overseas investors.

Nice historic graph here: https://www.gold.co.uk/info/uk-gold-reserves/

There are thousands of tonnes of gold in landfill sites round the world as people have thrown away computers and other electrical goods with gold in them. It is currently cheaper to mine landfill than to mine for gold. In Brazil illegal gold mining is a significant part of the attack on the rainforest. No responsible person - or country - should continue to prop up the market for this planet killing shiney shit.

[Chrisch]

I seem to Recall a Minister of the name Raab, who was surprised by this fact.

Ahh yes the dickwad that failed to understand Dover was a major port for traffic to and from France. I would imagine that he thinks the UK is an island. Probably Steve Baker also thinks the UK is an island and that we should feel sorry for his "mental issues".