Brits Fail To Cash In On Free £5 Notes

Representatives from price comparison website, www.moneysupermarket.com wandered the streets this morning wearing sandwich boards offering a free £5 note to anyone who asked. Despite encountering over 1800 people, only 28 passers by bothered to take advantage of the offer.

Additional research found that more than half of all Brits (53 per cent) admit they too would not be bothered to claim their £5 if they were in the same situation. This finding suggests 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.

“This exercise reveals a fundamental inertia which is stopping people from making sensible financial decisions,” said Tim Moss, head of loans and debt at www.moneysupermarket.com.  “This was a completely genuine, no strings attached offer. People simply had to approach the sandwich board wearer and ask for a fiver. If more than 98 per cent 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.” 

Here’s the link:

http://www.webitpr.com/release_detail.asp?ReleaseID=8847

I disagree with Tim Moss. I don’t think it was a genuine offer -they were advertising for their company. Plus, if a stranger told me that he would give me $10, I would look at him like he’s a nutcase and ask him, “What’s in it for you?” Everytime something that is too good to be true comes along, it would be a sure thing to assume that a scam or some sort of psychological experiment is taking place.