Departure lounge dumping adds up
Holiday makers are wasting an estimated £1 billion in departure lounges every year as they attempt to dump the last of their holiday money.According to research by Abbey, last year 16 million Brits - or 36 per cent of the population - wasted their money on their way home from holiday to use up the last of their foreign currency, with the average amount dumped standing as £65. A majority of people (58 per cent) buy refreshments in notoriously expensive airport cafes, while 35 per cent buy gifts for friends and families at home, 31 per splash out on duty-free perfume, and 14 per cent buy tacky souvenirs to remind them of their holiday.Men were almost a third more likely as women to be guilty of this kind of behaviour and tended to dump more money too, at an average of £68 each, compared to females who dump £10 less.But with half-term holidays on the way, Steve Shore, head of banking at Abbey, said: "With little else to do in the departure lounge, shopping helps kill the dead time between checking-in and boarding a flight. "But it's amazing how much people are prepared to waste. Even with a commission fee, converting the money back into sterling is far more cost effective than splurging it on things you don't need."
Share this..
Related stories
UK public dismayed over MP's expenses
The UK public and Parliament appear to have totally disconnected with news that four MPs charged over alleged fraudulent expense claims could well be tempted to use parliamentary privilege to escape court action. At a time when UK taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet on a monthly basis the headlines in newspapers do not make good reading for UK MPs. Overall MPs expenses were over £90 mil...
Read MoreThe Lloyds bank saga goes on and on
The news that a further 1200 jobs will be lost at Lloyds bank has attracted some very negative comment with regards to the company and its conduct. This comes at a time when a number of shareholders, who invested in the group prior to the merger with HBOS, have announced plans to take the UK government to court and find out exactly what went on behind the scenes.
There are unsubstan...
Is your personal data safe in the UK?
The recent revelation that Zürich Insurance lost the details of over 50,000 UK customers during transit is starting to have an impact on UK consumers. Despite the fact that larger data losses have been reported over the last few years, it seems that this may well be the "straw which broke the camel's back" and see more and more UK consumers look at protection issues.
Obviously th...
VAT rise to reduce income for 180,000 UK firms
Despite assurances that no business in the UK would suffer when the government announced the reduction in VAT from 17.5% to 15%, it appears a number of businesses who are part of the flat rate scheme would see their income reduced. In simple terms larger companies add 17.5% to the cost of their goods and then reclaim this from the government through the business expenditure option. However this is...
Read MoreBeware of scams as the recession bites
Today's announcement from the OFT regarding an increase in debt related services which may not be able to deliver on their promises has focused many minds upon the significant increase in scams around the UK. As we have seen in the past, times of financial trouble seem to attract the vultures of the UK business world looking to prey on the concerns and fears of many. It is worth remembering that i...
Read More