Woman receives counterfeit money from Shop

If there has ever been any doubt that the world of currency exchange has its own fair share of crooks and conmen, a recent breaking story emerging out of Oldham is likely to encour-age many to reconsider their assumptions. According to Pauline Westall, a currency ex-change shop located in Oldham Town Centre gave her €600 worth of counterfeit notes when she visited to prepare for a holiday adventure to the Mediterranean.

A scenario that is likely to cause as much financial trouble as it does embarrassment, Westall described her experience as shocking and completely unexpected. After visiting a Debenhams, Westall was told that the bills in her possession were forgeries. No legal action was taken against Westall, of course, given the fact that it was impossible for her to counter-feit the money on her own accord. That being said, perhaps the more worrying assumption that can be made following this incident is that a growing number of individuals who aren’t consistently vigilant are being sold counterfeit bills by their local money exchange without their knowledge. In the best of scenarios, the money exchange shop would simply acknowledge their error and reimburse the client for the money they had originally ex-changed. This, however, is not the experience that Westall has had up to this point.

To this day, the money exchanger shop she visited, which is called The Money Shop, has yet to reimburse her for the money she gave them. When asked for a statement regarding the situation, Westall stated, “This is just a nightmare. The money was always to cover my trip to see my brother and now there’s a chance I will be out there with no money. This could now possibly ruin two trips.’

Following the ensuing controversy regarding the situation, The Money Shop issued their own statement on the matter, stating, “‘We are investigating to see whether the notes concerned came in a batch supplied to us by our regular, reputable wholesaler and in turn to the customer. Should they have done so, The Money Shop will of course consider compensating Ms Westall.’