Customers are constantly being urged to switch utility providers to find a cheaper or better deal. But what are the psychological barriers that stop them?
In this article by the BBC, Professor Mariana Mazzucato, an evolutionary economist at the Open University, says the consumer experts misread human nature.
She believes they've fallen for the myth that people act rationally at all times and have the benefit of "perfect information". In reality we are happy to stick to what we've got as long as it's okay, she says. "Our behaviour is more about routines and rules of thumb. And inertia sets in due to both the costs of acquiring new information and the costs of switching."
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