Research shows Brits would turn down free cash
by Kay Murchie
Moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison site, have discovered that Britons will turn down free cash.
Yesterday, representatives from the company were placed in two busy streets, one in Tottenham Court Road in London and the other in the Deansgate area of Manchester, they were wearing sandwich boards offering free £5 notes to passers-by.
However, despite coming into contact with nearly 2,000 people, just 28 people took the free money. Those in the south were more reserved than their northern counterparts with just 1.2% of people taking advantage of the offer in London, this figure rose to 3.1% on the streets of Manchester.
The experiment demonstrated that British people are reluctant to take even the simplest steps to improve their financial situation as the credit crunch is taking its toll on many families in the country, say Moneysupermarket.com.
Furthermore, research from the company established that 53% of Britons admitted they would not be bothered to claim their £5 if they were in the same situation.
Tim Moss of Moneysupermarket.com said the findings indicate that people actually overestimate their own likelihood of acting in such a situation, given the poor take up of the offer on the streets of London and Manchester.
The exercise unveiled a fundamental inertia which is stopping people from making sensible financial decisions, added Mr Moss.
The exercise was a completely genuine offer with no strings attached. People simply had to approach the sandwich board wearer and ask for a fiver.
If over 98% of the people who passed by couldn’t be bothered to do that, it raises some interesting questions about what needs to be done to persuade people to make an effort to improve their financial position, commented Mr Moss.
60% of Britons believed there was a catch so didn’t ask for the free cash. 20% said they would not believe the offer was real, while 10% said they would feel too embarrassed and 3% of people said that £5 wasn’t worth the effort.
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