Information for people new to Manchester
Shopping & Money

Currency

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The currency in the UK is the pound sterling (£). £1 = 100 pence (p). Most money is issued by the Bank of England; however, you might also see some coins and banknotes issued by the Bank of Scotland/Bank of Clyde and the Isle of Man: this is all legal money in the UK, so don't worry that you have been given false currency.

The coins in circulation include the 1 pence (p), 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2. Banknotes include the £5, £10, £20, £50 and £100. You can change coins into banknotes or banknotes into coins at any bank or Post Office. It is not normal to round prices up or down in the UK: if the price label says £9.99, then you should get 1p change from a £10 banknote: if the price label says £10.02, you will have to give exactly that much, not just £10.00.

Money and Banks

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  Opening a bank account

It is difficult for asylum seekers and refugees to open a standard (current) bank account with at a UK bank, because the law demands that the bank makes careful checks on the identity of the person wanting to open an account, and this usually means that they ask to see documents that you are unlikely to have. Many banks also want you to prove that youi have been living in the UK for at least 1 year.

However, some banks are more helpful than others (in particular the Co-operative Bank has been helpful in the past), and will allow asylum-seekers to open an account using their ARC card and a letter from the Home Office as identification. Take as much documentation as possible with you, for example:

Ø      ARC card / SAL letter

Ø      A letter from your doctor or solicitor confirming your identity and address

Ø      Your tenancy agreement

Ø      TV licence documents

Ø      Provisional driving licence

Ø      Passport / travel documents

Ø      Utility bills / council tax bills

Ø      Home Office letters

Once you have been given leave to remain in the UK, you will need to open a bank account that you can have benefits paid into. Refugees who can show a proof of address with a current bill for gas, electricity, water or telephone and another document, such as a rent book, should be able to open an account in most banks. Many building societies also run bank accounts, and are equally as good as the normal banks.

Types of Bank Account

There are a number of different types of bank account available in the UK, as the box below shows:

Cash Cards and ATM  Machines

Most types of bank card allow you to have a cash card with which you can draw money from an ATM (automated teller) machine or cash machine. When you are issued the card you are also given a pin number which you need to memorise. The card is linked directly to your bank account and any money you take out with the card comes straight out of your account.

Cash machines can be found outside most banks and in many shops, pubs, shopping centres etc. You need to put your card in the machine and follow the instructions on the screen. The machine asks for your pin number you need to type it onto the key pad and press the appropriate key for how much money you want. The machine then gives you the money.

Most banks do not charge a fee for this service but sometimes if you use a machine that belongs to a different bank to you r own there may be a small charge (about £1).

Bank cards or Plastic money

Many people have one or more bank cards which allow them to make direct payments. Colloquially these are called plastic money or just "plastic". They usually have a microchip inside them and you have a pin number which you need to tap into a machine when you use your card to pay for something.

Plastic money saves you from carrying cash around and is very useful for paying for things over the phone or on the internet. However, the cards are a target for fraud so you need to keep your pin number private, report any stolen or lost cards to the bank immediately and check your statements regularly to make sure that you have only been charged for the things that you have bought.

Other kinds of Bank Cards

Debit cards: Switch, Maestro, Cirrus, Visa: can be used in shops, restaurants etc to pay for your shopping, for train tickets or to pay bills. The money is taken out of your account immediately and you are not usually charged for the service. In some places you can also get "cash back" on your debit card. This means that you can pay for your goods and also get given some cash from the cashier (usually up to £50). As with all other debit card transactions any cash back that you take is charged directly to your bank account.

Credit cards: Visa, Mastercard etc can be used in shops, restaurants etc to pay for your shopping, for train tickets or to pay bills. The money you spend is billed to you at the end of the month, and you usually have about 30 days to pay back all or some of the money. After 30 days you start to pay interest on the rest of the money you still owe. With a credit card you will have a limit set (eg £300 or £500 at first).  If you do not make a payment in time or if you go over your limit you will be charged. Some shops also charge you a fee for paying by credit card.

Storecards: these are like credit cards but are operated by individual shops and can only be used to buy things from those shops: the money you spend is billed to you at the end of the month, and you usually have about 30 days to pay the money back

Cheque (guarantee) cards: if you write a personal cheque to make a payment for goods or services, the person taking your cheque may ask to see your cheque (guarantee) card. In most cases, this is part of the debit card that you receive when you open a current account. The cheque card will show the highest value of cheque that you can write, for example, £50 or £100.

Sending Money

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Sending money in the UK

The best and safest way to send money to another person in the UK is to use a personal cheque, which you will have if you have opened a current account. If you do not have a current account, then you can use postal orders. You can buy postal orders equal to the amount of money you need to send from any Post Office.

  Sending money abroad

You can send a Moneygram or international money transfer to most countries through the Post Office. You pay in cash the amount you are sending plus a fee. Money can also be sent overseas for a fee through agencies such as Western Union, which has branches throughout the UK. They will tell you where the recipient can collect the money.

Paying for good and services

People do not haggle over prices in shops but this is sometimes possible in markets. It is better to look around for a price you can afford before deciding to buy.

Paying in cash is still very common, however a lot of people now pay for goods and services using electronic means of paying. Usually this is a "debit card", which takes the money directly from their current account, or a "credit card", which means that they will pay a bill for all items on their card at the end of the month. You cannot usually use a cash card linked to a savings account to pay for goods and services.

If you are renting accommodation privately and you have a bank account, you can choose to have your bills (electricity, telephone, gas, etc) paid directly out of your current account by "direct debit" so that you don't have to remember to pay each month. See the section in this booklet on "Household Services" for more information.

Shopping
Food Shopping

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Manchester has a large range of places to buy food such as supermarkets, corner shops, markets and delicatessens. Prices vary greatly so try to check them before you shop. Most people do their main shopping at supermarkets which, together with indoor markets generally have the cheapest goods. Supermarkets such as Aldi, Netto and Lidl generally have the lowest prices: there are branches across the city. Fresh fruit and vegetables are usually (but not always) cheaper at markets and greengrocer shops than in the supermarkets.

All packaged food has one label saying when it must be sold by and another saying when you must eat it by. Supermarkets often cut the price of food nearing its sell by date and you can get bargains this way: they also cut prices of bread and some other fresh foods after 8.30 at night. It is worth checking the "reduced to clear" shelves in supermarkets: the products on these shelves are often there just because their packaging is damaged, but the contents are fine.

International foods

Manchester supermarkets increasingly stock a range of  international foods, but these are often expensive and may be changed to suit British tastes, so not exactly the real thing.

However, the city has a good range of stores selling authentic ethnic foods, mostly located in the areas where the ethnic communities live. Venus Foodstore (Turkish and Middle-Eastern foods), Appna (Asian, African and halal foods), and other stores in Manchester Superstore (Asian, African, Caribbean and halal foods), and other stores in Cheetham Hill, Longsight, Rusholme, as well as Chinatown. Prices are usually good, and the produce is generally of good quality. If you have further questions about finding specific food items, contact your refugee community organisation.

  Shopping For Clothes

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There are many different places to buy clothes from:

  Clothes shops and department stores

Supermarkets and cut-price stores

Markets

Charity shops.

Clothes from clothes shops and department stores can be expensive, but it is worth checking these shops during the summer or Christmas sale periods. Supermarkets can be a good place to get inexpensive clothes: Asda and Tesco have quite a big range, and stores like Aldi and Netto have occasional bargains. Cut-price stores such as Primark and Matalan are very good for basic clothes and underwear.

For even cheaper clothes visit the markets, for example the Arndale Centre indoor market in the city centre, Grey Mare Lane market in Beswick (Monday, Wednesday and Saturday), Longsight Market (Monday, Wednesay, Friday and Saturday) or New Smith Market in Openshaw (Sunday mornings only).

Charity shops have a long and honourable tradition in the UK. These shops (for example, British Red Cross, Oxfam, Age Concern) often have good quality used clothing at very low prices which they sell to raise money for their charity work. Mnay British people enjoy browsing in charity shops for unusual items and bargains and it is not seen as embarrassing to wear clothes from charity shops.

Jumble Sales

A "jumble sale" is a one-day sale run by a community group, school, charity or church to raise money. These are good place to buy decent second-hand clothes and other goods. They are advertised in local newspapers and outside the places where they take place. Prices are fixed but are usually very cheap (e.g. pence rather than pounds).

Shopping for household goods

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The big supermarkets like Asda and Tesco are good places to find cheap household goods such as bedding, irons, kitchen items such as pans and knives as well as cutlery, plates and dishes. Argos is another shop which has a very big range of things for the house at very good prices: to buy something from Argos you need to select it first from one of the catalogues in the store and then write down the number. You pay for the item and then it is brought out of a storage room for you - always check inside the box to see that nothing is broken before leaving the store.

The Mustard Tree is a good place to get cheap second-hand furniture. The Wesley Furniture project also sells reconditioned furniture and white goods (cookers, fridges etc). A home starter pack containing essential basic furniture can cost around £60 form them.

Another place to find second-hand items is to visit a "car boot sale", which usually take place in car parks or school playgrounds: local people take items from their own homes that they no longer want and sell them very cheaply, so you might find some bargains. Another place to try for household items are the markets (see "shopping for clothes" above for details).g

Returns policy

It is a good idea to always keep the paper receipt when you buy something from a shop. In the UK, most shops allow you to return the item that you have bought (within 28 days of buying it) and they will give you your money back. You can do this for any reason, even because you have changed your mind about what you have bought, as long as you haven't already used or damaged the item.

In addition, if you have bought something such as an iron or a hairdryer and this breaks in less than a year after you bought it, it will be covered by a product guarantee and you can take it back to the shop with your receipt and ask for it to be repaired or exchanged for a new one. If you have lost the receipt, it may be more difficult to get a replacement, but it is still worth trying. For clothes and shoes you might need to prove that the problem is a result of bad production and not just because you have worn them too much, but the big stores are usually good about accepting returned items.

Contact details

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