Credit Cards & Loans
‘Expense evasion’: top five ways Brits avoid paying the bill
Two thirds of Brits suffer the effects of ‘expense evasion’ from friends guilty of failing to cough up their fair share of a bill.
According to poll of 1,347 men and women by offeroftheday.co.uk, 64% of Brits can relate to the phenomenon of friends that ‘take advantage’ when it comes to footing the bill.
The most common situation was when friends were guilty of’choosing the most expensive item on the menu but then split the bill, with 58% claiming to have been on the receiving end of this.
Nearly half of those who admitted to experiencing expense evasion’ said that there was often ‘one friend who did it repeatedly.
However, 39% claimed that there were ‘two or three’ of their friends who did it, while 17% said that ‘most of their friends’ were culpable.
The study also revealed other instances of ‘expense evasion’:
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1. Choosing the most expensive items on the menu and then splitting the bill – 58%
2. Splitting a drinks bill with the designated driver – 51%
3. Disappearing at their ’round’ time – 44%
4. Claiming to have no money in a taxi – 41%
5. ‘Forgetting’ their wallet/card on a night out – 29%
Ennis Al-Saiegh, marketing director at offeroftheday.co.uk, said: “It can be frustrating when somebody fails to stump up their necessary share of the bill. If you’ve taken price into account when ordering from the menu, your thriftiness soon flies out of the window if your companions fail to do so and then split the cost!”
“The majority of people enjoy displaying some level of generosity, but others operate at the opposite end of the spectrum. If money is tight, maybe that should be something you can discreetly mention beforehand and not expect a generous member of the party to foot the bill. You can’t live off other people’s sufferance forever. Unless you’re good enough company it would seem!”
The study found 24% had ‘openly confronted’ the ‘expense evasion’ offender(s). 37% said that they had given ‘strong hints’. However, 39% claimed to just ‘ignore the issue’.
However, despite nearly 40% saying they choose to ignore the issue, 59% said they found expense evasion ‘very frustrating’.
However, 24% said that the ‘offenders company was worth it’. Despite all of this, 39% admitted that they had been guilty of ‘expense evasion’ themselves in the past.