Force retailers to round up all prices
Why does everything I buy have to end with 99p? All this results in is a wallet full of small change that I can't actually use until I have acquired a metric ton of the stuff that I have no desire to carry about with me until needed. Force all retailers to round up prices to the nearest appropriate value - items under 15p can be left alone with their odd (but understandable) prices, anything up to £2.50 gets rounded to the nearest 10p, up to £10 to the nearest 50p, and above that to the nearest £1.

Incidentally, as a part cure for those similarly inflicted with irritating small change - instead of spending hours yourself or losing whatever fee the counting machines skim off the top I have a solution - self service checkouts. Every time you go to pay, before feeding it a crisp £10 note or inserting your card, dump in a handful of useless change, which it then counts for you and deducts from your total - so instead of having a pocketful of change and spending £8.24 on your card, you get to both empty your pocket of 17p in copper, and reduce the charge to £8.07 (feel free to substitute for appropriate values). If you feed it notes you still will get some change back, but it should at least be of a lesser amount than all your previous change + new coins.
(442, Sat 24 Sep 2011, 14:24, 15 replies)

My understanding is that it's to prevent cashiers stealing..
When it's .99, the cashier has to open the till and give you 1p back. This means they can't pocket the £1, £5 or £10 note.
( spitsticker is not working on, Sat 24 Sep 2011, 15:44, closed)

This^
Having read through this QOTW and seen so many object to the £1.99 stuff, why don't they find out what it is really for? But that would spoil a good ill informed rant.

When all transactions are electronic, we will see it diminish. Until then it's to stop low paid shop workers lining there pockets.
( jagwap, Sun 25 Sep 2011, 6:38, closed)

But the cashier stealing theory is bollocks.

( Ring Of Fire A petty, drooling belming butthurt retard., Sun 25 Sep 2011, 9:22, closed)

Part of the reason
is to keep lower denomination coins in circulation. If something costs £1.99 and you hand over £2 then that's another 1p back in circulation.

I broadly agree with the sentiment expressed in the OP but I also think that cunts like Tesco would cynically raise the price of something costing £10.24 to £10.26, so they could then round it up to £10.50, rather than down to £10. Anyone else?
(MrC. Having the most boring username on b3ta since 2004, Sun 25 Sep 2011, 22:40, closed)

Cashiers stealing...
I always assumed it was to make the prices sound lower to those in a rush - £2 sounds more than £1.99, despite being only 1p more in reality, which will catch out those short of thinking who don't just naturally round up in their head.
(442, Sun 25 Sep 2011, 7:07, closed)

Some supermarkets already do this (here in Edinburgh, at least)
I just tip the entire change section of my wallet into the machine and let it sort it out.
( Hdjejjwsjdjjf LOOK, Sat 24 Sep 2011, 18:19, closed)

£1.93 is less than 17p?
Get a credit card, you bus riding povo.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Sat 24 Sep 2011, 22:39, closed)

£1.93 is less than 17p...
Not in value, but in usefulness yes...

17p is a load of coppers (exactly a walletfull going on the last trip to Asda).
£1.93 works out as 1x£1, 1x50p, 2x20p, 1x2p, 1x1p = 6 coins in total. I will accept that poind coins and 50p pieces are larger coins physically, but they are also much more useful as currency than copper change, and more likely to be spent rather than collecting.
(442, Sun 25 Sep 2011, 7:11, closed)

Give your excess coppers to charity?
There's often a collecting tin at the till, for this very purpose.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Sun 25 Sep 2011, 10:01, closed)

Or you could do like we did here in Oz
and get rid of 1 and 2 cent pieces.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Sat 24 Sep 2011, 23:09, closed)

Australia did it the smart way.
They didn't round the prices up, so you'd still get items at $4.56, but your total bill was round to +/-5 c. In Switzerland, they rounded the individual prices to +/-5 rp and ended up with inflation...
Saying that, my eldest found a 1c coin on the road the other week.
( Colonel Boris "...a desperate Buzzfeed imitation...", Sun 25 Sep 2011, 0:08, closed)

Apparently they're worth more now because of the copper content!
Take that gov'mint.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Sun 25 Sep 2011, 7:07, closed)

Good idea!
I've got a cd spindle lid brimming with mixed change. I wonder if i can get a bottle of vod or a crate of lager with it.
( Slippery Mick ‏, Sun 25 Sep 2011, 2:05, closed)

If this irks you so much
Then you should probably just shop at Poundland. Your life will immediately become so much more blissful.

Next...
(mongothemagnificent knows where you live, Sun 25 Sep 2011, 16:29, closed)

Pissant Low Demonination Coins
Australia solved that problem years ago - they got rid of the 1 cent and 2 cent coins. There is talk of scrapping the 5 cent coin, too.

All prices were rounded up / down to the nearest 5 cent mark.
(Maclir, Mon 26 Sep 2011, 15:20, closed)