An experiment by Irish cash back website, FatCheese.ie, has shown that when offered a FREE €5 note, only one in seven Irish people will take up the offer, meaning that 6 our of 7 or 85% of people will not take the free cash.

In the experiment there was €1,000 in €5 notes given out to those who wanted them with only 200 of the 1,400 taking the free money.  The aim of the experiment was to see whether Irish people would take the free €5 when it was there in front of them but the overriding majority refused to take the money.  Some stated they thought it had to be a set up, some just weren’t bothered, while others were simply too embarrassed to ask for the €5 note.

Fatcheese.ie deployed a man wearing a sandwich board with the words “IF YOU ASK ME FOR A €5 NOTE YOU CAN HAVE ONE” written on it.  He was armed with €1,000 worth of €5 notes as he strolled up and down Grafton Street in Dublin and around St. Stephen’s Green during rush hour on a weekday morning.

Men were nearly twice as likely to take the money as women with 128 males taking the free fiver compared to just 72 females.  Many passers-by, even when they saw the free money being handed out, refused to go and get their free fiver.

Fatcheese.ie carried out the experiment to help highlight the fact that the majority of Irish consumers are not taking advantage of free cash back that is available when they shop online.  Maya Kamourieh of FatCheese.ie said; “This social experiment shows that a lot of people are suspicious or too embarrassed to get a free €5 note while out on the street.  With the Irish economy the way it is and so many struggling with their finances, this shows that it’s not that they don’t want the money but they are suspicious of what the catch may be.

Maya was quick to point out that when shopping online people should have a lot less fear and embarrassment when it comes to claiming free cash.  “When shopping online people should have nothing to fear when it comes to getting cash back for the products they will be buying anyway. For example anyone booking a Hotel on Hotels.com will get 12% cash back on whatever they spend through FatCheese.ie with no strings attached at all and the money goes straight back into their bank account.  That is if they trust the bankers anymore, they can also get it back through Paypal,” she joked.

WATCH THE EXPERIMENT VIDEO HERE: http://youtu.be/LLY1aPZnAwA