Once, after a few too many sherbets, I tipped the pizza delivery man with my supermarket trolley token instead of a pound coin. It was a genuine mistake but I still feel guilty.
Tomorrow sees the introduction of the new 12-sided pound coin, forcing a root-and-branch overhaul of supermarket trolleys, vending machines, parking meters and anything else that requires a perfectly round pound coin to operate. The launch will also presumably result in bins full of defunct charity tokens, mine included.
While businesses have had three years to prepare for the switch, many are still lagging behind. Tesco has admitted that 200 of its supermarkets haven’t adapted their trolleys to the new coin. This means that trolleys will be free to use until the retail giant gets its act together. Meanwhile, 15 per cent of vending machines have yet to be converted – that equates to around 75,000. Tomorrow’s mid-morning Mars bar may be off the agenda.
The government says a new coin is necessary to deter fraudsters.
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