Against the law to pay in bronze coins?!

How many of you were aware that there is actually a coinage act in place in the UK which states: ‘People can refuse any payment above 20p paid in bronze coins because it doesn’t strictly qualify as legal tender.’?

Well a young mum of two from Essex recently found out about this the hard way. The police were called when she tried to pay her 60p bus fare with 25p worth of 1 and 2 pence coins. It may sound absolutely ridiculous, but when the young mum refused to leave the bus believing she should be allowed to pay for her fare with the bronze coins, the driver called the Essex police to come along and defuse the situation!

Laura Pulley told the Metro: ‘It was the most surreal experience of my life and I can’t believe it happened. He watched me count the exact money out, then he expected me and my daughter to get off the bus.‘ 

Laura may have been even more shocked to learn that the bus driver was actually well within his rights thanks to The Coinage Act, 1971 which many people are unaware of!

Eventually, a policeman ended up giving Laura the correct change for her journey but understandably, she is still extremely confused and angry about the whole situation.

A spokesperson from First said: ‘It is not First Essex policy to refuse customers who pay in change. We will be contacting Ms Pulley directly to apologise for any embarrassment or inconvenience caused.’

So next time you are thinking about getting rid of your loose change, you might want to take The Coinage Act of 1971 into consideration!

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