Is cash acceptance compulsory?

[YoYo]

Having read through various threads on this forum and waded through pages of legislation and regulation I have yet to find anything that dispels my ingrained assumption that cash MUST be accepted as a method of payment at rail station points of sale. The reason I ask this is that I have been involved in some Rail commercial schemes that all confidently produce cashless retail strategy's on the assumption that Card payments alone will suffice. When I was in the industry I was lead to believe that any operator that enforces the Penalty Fare scheme or offers sundries (upgrades, excess fares, extensions etc) must LEGALLY accept cash as a method of payment to ensure that any customer with the intention and means to pay can do so. Can anybody on this learned forum confirm or deny my assumption and/or give reference that proves/disproves this? Thank you in advance

 

[yorkie]

Yes, they contractually must accept cash.

The following are accepted as methods of payments at National Rail stations and retail outlets...

• Cash
  
  Any combination of notes and coins are accepted, as below.
  Coins
  
  Acceptable combinations of coins are:
  • 1p and 2p coins up to 20p
  • 5p and 10p coins up to £5
  • 20p and 50p coins up to £10
  • £1 and £2 coins up to any amount
  
  Jersey/Guernsey/Isle of Man coins will not be accepted.
  Bank Notes of the British Isles
  
  The following bank notes may be accepted:
  • Bank notes issued by the Bank of England and bearing a portrait of Her Majesty the Queen;
  • Sterling notes issued by Allied Irish Banks plc
  • Sterling notes issued by Bank of Ireland
  • Sterling notes issued by Northern Bank Ltd
  • Sterling notes issued by Ulster Bank Ltd
  • Bank notes issued by Bank of Scotland
  • Bank notes issued by Clydesdale Bank plc
  • Bank notes issued by Royal Bank of Scotland
  • Sterling bank notes issued by the Isle of Man Bank Ltd
  • Sterling bank notes issued by States of Guernsey
  • Sterling bank notes issued by States of Jersey
  
  Foreign currency
  
  Most train companies will not accept foreign bank notes.
  
  
• Credit/Debit/Charge Cards

All National Rail train companies accept the major cards such as Visa, Visa Delta, MasterCard, Maestro and Amex. Some train companies also accept Diners Club International, Solo and Electron.
​

(continues; see link for full list of payment methods).....

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/45185.aspx

 

[philthetube]

correct Yorkie, although by law cash does not have to be accepted as payment for a service it does have to be accepted as payment for a debt, for example, a bus operator does not have to accept cash for fares, however should you travel and be charged at the end of the journey then cash would have to be accepted. This is subject to maximum amounts for coins, 20p in coppet.

 

[Indigo Soup]

correct Yorkie, although by law cash does not have to be accepted as payment for a service it does have to be accepted as payment for a debt, for example, a bus operator does not have to accept cash for fares, however should you travel and be charged at the end of the journey then cash would have to be accepted. This is subject to maximum amounts for coins, 20p in coppet.

With the usual caveat of '... except in Scotland.'

Quite apart from the banknotes issue (notes issued by Scottish banks aren't legal tender anywhere, not even Scotland), the concept of legal tender doesn't exist in the same way. Under Scots law, any reasonable means of paying a debt must be accepted.

 

[YoYo]

Yes, they contractually must accept cash.

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/45185.aspx

Many Thanks