•    29% of customers leave tips in restaurants, regardless of poor service or bad food
•    Women (67%) buy shoes or clothes and don't use them
•    78% of money off vouchers aren't used and are thrown away
•    40% of customers don't take faulty goods back
•    1 in 10 (10%) won't haggle on shop's prices
•    Before buying, only 35% check interest rates and 31% credit card rates

29 September 2010 – The latest YouGov survey shows people in the UK today waste their money each day. Double tipping in restaurants, throwing money off vouchers away and accepting higher than normal credit card interest charges is commonplace, despite the fact money is tighter than normal.

More than 2,000 people from the UK were surveyed for the money saving website DiscountVouchers.co.uk. The results showed that 43% accepted higher than average bank charges, 29% tipped in restaurants that had bad service or poor food and 78% of people said they throw money saving vouchers in the bin.

Men (14%) show off to their work colleagues and friends by letting shop-keepers 'keep the change'. For 67% of the women surveyed, the never wear the shoes and clothes they buy. Regardless of websites that compare prices, only 31% and 35% of people check the interest rates from banks or credit card charges before they purchase anything.

Mr S. Terry from DiscountVouchers.co.uk said, “With the economic crisis affecting everyone, people in the UK today are still wasting their cash. They have admitted to throwing away money saving vouchers and not comparing prices. By checking your daily expenditure, you can see where you can reduce costs in order be managing your finances better”.

Restaurant Tips

If a man fancies a waitress, he'll leave a large tip. Men also try to show off in front of new dates (7%) or colleagues (3%) by leaving a larger than normal tip.

People from London (38%) leave tips even if the service the receive is below par or the food wasn't nice. People from Scotland (30%) even admitted to double tipping. Diners in the South West (10%), Wales (14%) and London (10%) would be more likely to tip if they liked the waitresses or waiters. Diners from the West Midlands (7%) with a new partner would also be more inclined to leave a large tip.

Negotiating Pricing

Men prefer to haggle on the price of goods than women – with only 8% of males and 12% of females refusing to haggle – despite companies reducing prices at will, in order to get a sale. People buying cars (55%) are more inclined to negotiate prices. However, only 8% try to lower their holiday prices at travel agents and 9% on electrical products. Those in supermarkets, clothing/shoe shops or restaurants only amounts to 1% that would haggle on prices.

People from the North East of England and the West Midlands are regarded as the least likely to ask for a price reduction and 14% in those areas said they'd refuse to even try. People in the South East, South West and Wales are more commonly known for asking for money off, and as little as 7% of the people who refuse to try.

Sales Don't Always Mean Cheap

The main problem with UK consumers is they buy a product then fail to use it and that is the main cause of millions of wasted pounds each day. Men buy CDs or DVDs (19%) and don't use them. They also buy computers (8%) and sporting goods (7%) but never get round to using them. Women buy clothing or footwear but leave them unused. Londoners (67%) are most likely not to use the items they buy but the Welsh (43%) tend to take advantage of the sale items they purchase.

Simon added: “The main thing to ask yourself when you go to buy a new item is – do you really need it? Will you use it and are you getting the best deal?”

Check out www.discountvouchers.co.uk for further details.
/ends.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 2189 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 28th - 30th July 2010.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

About DiscountVouchers.co.uk
DiscountVouchers.co.uk features the latest money saving offers from a growing range of retailers, all updated in real time.  Designed to help consumers save money with both leading high street brands and specialist retailers, DiscountVouchers.co.uk offers one of the widest choices of discounts available.

Part of ASAP Ventures Ltd, the company behind the award winning Carrentals.co.uk price comparison site, DiscountVouchers.co.uk is committed to offering a growing range of the best savings available online.

For more information visit www.discountvouchers.co.uk

Media contact –
Rachel Builder & Jenny White
Context
rachel.builder@contextpr.co.uk
jenny.white@contextpr.co.uk
T: 01625 511966