A Redditor has been left scratching their head after an influencer asked them for a free car in exchange for exposure.
On the lovely Subreddit r/ChoosingBeggars, a Redditor named /u/JadeStarfall, posted an email from an influencer who was “reaching out” to “test out” one of the user’s cars.
“I work for a car finance company’s customer service team and recently received this email. My response boiled down to a polite ‘lol no’,” the user wrote.
In the email, the unnamed influencer claimed they had 33k followers on Instagram, 6k followers on their business Facebook and 1k friends on her personal Facebook.
“I’m just reaching out to hopefully get the opportunity to test out one of your vehicles, I will return the favour by advertising the vehicle on my Facebook and Instagram platforms,” the influencer wrote.
“I’m currently learning to drive, my neighbours, who are both key workers, will be teaching me to learn in my own car. I currently own a provisional license.”
The influencer claimed to be on disability benefits due to anxiety, thus the reason why they’ve asked their neighbours to teach her driving.
“I would like to take this opportunity to see if yous [sic] would be willing to loan me a vehicle or gift me a vehicle. I would prefer automatic but I’d be massively grateful for any,” they continued.
They then added they were a single mother and her “big goal” was to pass her driving test, hence why she asked for a free car.
“Financially, I cannot afford a new car. So I’m hoping you could help me achieve my goal,” she wrote.
Since posting the email on r/ChoosingBeggars, loads of Redditors slammed the influencer for using their disability, as well as her single mother status, as leverage for a free vehicle.
“Why do these people think that mentioning they’re a ‘single mum’ is an excuse to get shit for free or be an asshole? It doesn’t make you special,” a second person added.
“Haha…what a spirited try though!” another added.
Other Redditors were trying to decipher what kind of influencer she was. Some speculated that her FB page — which reportedly has 6k followers — was a pyramid scheme.
As much as I get second-hand embarrassment that I physically curl my toes when I read viral Reddit entries about people who want to stuff in exchange for exposure, I kinda feel bad for this “influencer”.
In comparison to other r/choosingbeggars stories, I reckon this could be the kindest influencer ever.
One user noted that she was “ready to take ‘no’ for an answer”, whereas other influencers would demand whatever they were after.
Influencers have become such pests that some restaurants have banned them after they’ve asked for free meals in exchange for an Instagram post.
However, I do criticise this influencer for asking for a free car, ‘cos babes, in this economy???
Yep, good luck with that.
