National fiver shortage?

[Russ]

Since Christmas there have been about 8 occasions where instead of giving me change which would normally include a £5 note, shop assistants have given me pound coins instead, pleading "I'm sorry I don't have any fives left".

I don't remember this happening so often in the past - anyone else noticed it?

[Julian]

What happened to the £5 coin that was talked about? :confused:

Or was I dreaming it. :shrug: :)

[Fawkes]

I don't have any information on the national shortage but I know I'm short of fiver's............................ and teners and twenties :(

[etccarmageddon]

happened to me at lunch time. I think it's cos the new note is new - people are hanging on to them? it's quite a sexy number?

[Bex]

it's true there does seem to be a shortage...working in a bank we get a lot of customers asking us for five pound notes and general we dont have any...think we have 300quid in total in fivers atm :eek:

[Scarlett]

AFAIK its a generic problem.

Most times, when someone buys something with a tenner or a twenty you need a fiver for the change.

when the stuff is under a fiver, most people will try and make it up with the change rather than break up a fiver so shops often run out of them.

[Mal]

It happens all the time at the newsagents near my work. You end up with a load of change in your pocket.

[Julian]

According to the Bank of England there are over £1,000, 000,000 of fivers in circulation. They have a shorter life than other notes and they have been printing fewer each year for the last 5 years. :)

Info Here (http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/noteissue.pdf)

[Graham]

This is a problem I have regularly.

When I go to run my stall at a market I make sure I have been to the bank on the Friday before and got at least £40 worth of fives and another £10 worth of pound coins.

The reason is that most people get cash from Money Machines which now only deal in tens and twenties, so every time someone pays for something of value up to a fiver or between ten and fifteen quid there's going to be a £5 note in their change.

Consequently all the fivers migrate into people's wallets/ purses which leaves a "lag time" where they are sitting doing nothing until sufficient time/ transactions have passed for them to get back into tills and then eventually be paid back into banks.

[zoombini]

Could this have been caused by the withdrawl of the Ann somethingorother note?

[paulyoung666]

iirc this isnt a new thing , it has being going on for years , i wonder if it was anything to do with the £2 coin being introduced :confused:

[Stuartbe]

Whats a Fiver :confused: :bigcry:

Never seen one ( I have a wife that likes shopping )

[luftys]

Whats a Fiver :confused: :bigcry:

Never seen one ( I have a wife that likes shopping )
this is wat it looks like

[Popeye]

I saw a sign in asda the other day

something to do with withdrawing them from circulation I think

maybe that's why they are scarce


I saw a fake one a while back - rubbish it was - really pathetic

[ian@huth]

A lot of shops, particularly newsagents take in so many pound coins that they use them instead of fivers when giving change to take the weight out of the till and make the bank bag a little lighter.

[luftys]

A lot of shops, particularly newsagents take in so many pound coins that they use them instead of fivers when giving change to take the weight out of the till and make the bank bag a little lighter.
And it great to see someone trying to walk with a pocket full of coins :rofl: :rofl: running is even better :rofl: :rofl:

[zoombini]

AHA! this (http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/newfive/stephenson_withdrawal.htm) is what I was thinking about, the Stephenson one.
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/newfive/stephenson_back.jpg

So all those that I still have in the scout funds tin need giving to the bank PDQ.

The one that is still OK is the Elizabeth Fry one.
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/newfive/images/smallback.jpg