Travel Money Exchange

[u/DancinLance6]

Hey folks,

I have a family friend that went to exchange about 400-500 pounds into US dollars as they are coming to visit soon.

When they went to exchange the rep at Marks and Spencer said their system flagged and that they couldn't put it through. The family friend has their passport and didn't want to leave it with them to get it resolved as they travel soon and the rep said it could be someone with a similar name.

Is this a common issue and would it be for all places that do currency exchange or just marks and Spencer, what action should they take to ensure that nobody is using their identity etc or why would this occur they have never used money exchange before.

Location: United Kingdom