Service station not accepting old bank notes
They do not have any official documentation from the Reserve Bank notifying them not to accept any old notes either.
The Shell service station situated at the Noordheuwel Pick n Pay Centre apparently is not accepting any old bank notes because it is signed by the former governor of the Reserve Bank.
The Editor of the NEWS’ sister newspaper, the Roodepoort Record, visited the service station on the weekend and was stunned to learn that they would not accept his R100 note because it had the signature of CL Stals who was the governor from 1989 to 1999.
“The note was drawn from an Absa ATM and we wanted to use it to pay for oil. Yet the petrol attendant returned the money, saying that only new bank notes are accepted there,” says Tihan van der Walt.
Van der Walt refused to pay for the oil with any new notes and left the station. He went to Pick n Pay and paid for his goods with the exact same R100 note without any difficulty.
The NEWS contacted the service station and spoke to the manager (who did not want to give his name). He confirmed to the NEWS what happened and explained that the “big bank” informed them not to accept any old notes.
“It is because of all the fake R200 notes doing the rounds, that is why the big bank told us not to accept any old notes anymore. It is also because it is the old style [signature],” said the manager.
When asked if they have a machine to check for any fake notes, the manager confirmed that they indeed do not have one. They do not have any official documentation from the Reserve Bank notifying them not to accept any old notes either.
Van der Walt says that he understands their unwillingness to accept R200 notes, but finds it preposterous that they refuse the other older notes as well.
The NEWS spoke the owner of the service station, Kassim Salojee who admitted that there was some misunderstanding about what was communicated to the manager about the fake R200 notes. He assured the NEWS that the matter will be dealt with accordingly.
However, the manager has not contacted Van der Walt yet and he wonders how many other motorists have had the same experience at that service station.
“I am still quite shocked at how the situation played out,” concludes Van der Walt.
