You can't give money away in London

June 7, 2008 6:45 PM

If the UK is going through a credit crunch with people cutting back on their shopping and many unable to pay their bills - why is it so hard to give money away?

To test the financial savviness of Brits, a money website sent people dressed in sandwich boards offering free money, onto the streets on London and Manchester.

The boards - usually worn by religious nutters or to promote golf sales - clearly said anyone who asked would be given a £5 note.

But despite this only 28 people took them up on the offer with 1772 walking by. Even as some were given the cash it did not start a stampede.

The people behind the stunt say it was designed to illustrate that Brits are unwilling to take even the simplest steps to improve their financial situation and why the UK could be heading into a recession.

Tim Moss, from moneysupermarket.com said: "This exercise reveals a fundamental inertia which is stopping people from making sensible financial decisions.

“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.”

Though just 1.2 per cent of people took advantage of the offer in London, this figure increased to 3.1 per cent on the streets of Manchester.

LINKS
moneysupermarket.com