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A Basingstoke man has been refused a mortgage after saving up to buy a bag of popcorn at the cinema this weekend.
Simon Williams said he had taken on extra shifts at work over the last few months to save up a deposit, but was relying on the bank to help make his dream of a savoury cinema snack a reality.
He told us, “It’s not like I’m not good for it, I showed them my bank statements, my employment contract, and I even had 15% deposit in cash – but they just wouldn’t lend me what I needed for a large box of salted popcorn.
“I could easily afford the repayment over the next 25 years, so I don’t see what their problem was.
“Apparently I had ‘set my sights too high’, and someone with my level of income should be looking at more ‘entry level snacks like a bag of Maltesers’.
“But if I wanted Maltesers I could go and get Maltesers somewhere less desirable for half the price.
“I wanted popcorn, in the cinema – which is why I’ve been saving so hard.”
A spokesperson for Nationwide Building Society said that many first-time cinema-goers were simply unable to get on the snacking ladder in the current economy.
Mortgage adviser Michael Matthews told us, “Savoury snacks are simply out of the reach of most first-time cinemagoers.
“It’s not their fault, obviously, but unless you happen to have wealthy parents, or have saved up a hefty 25% deposit, I’m afraid you will have to enjoy your trip to the cinema snack-free.
“Or maybe put it on your credit card?”
