Graduates use expired student discount

A recent survey, reported in York Vision, has revealed that 57 percents of graduates have admitted to using expired student discount cards successfully.

The survey showed that these individuals made use of the situations wherein the high street shops didn’t explicitly check expiry dates or the owner’s name on the discount cards.

Thirty-seven percent of the people questioned also admitted to allowing their family and friends to use their discount cards on the high street.

According to the survey, fashion retailers and cinemas were reveled to be the most likely places in which expired student discount card was accepted.

Mohamed Zidan, a recent Economics graduate, suggested that such a practice could be in response to the rise in tuition fees as “students end up with a huge amount of debt and financial pressure and have no choice.”

The amount of students using expired cards successfully does not necessarily mean that less cards are being sold.

The National Union of Students (NUS), the leading student discount card provider, reported a 13 percent increase in NUS extra card sales within the first few weeks of sale in 2012/13.

Chloe Nelson, a third-year English Literature student, said: “As the renewal of cards costs upwards of ten pounds, trying to use expired ones is simply a case of good budgeting.”