A Calderdale resident is celebrating after winning the £6000 cash prize offered for people who pay their Council Tax by Direct Debit.
Calderdale Council is one of four Yorkshire boroughs that took part in the competition, as part of a campaign to encourage people to pay their Council Tax by Direct Debit. The initiative has been an amazing success, and achieved an estimated saving of more than £171,000 for participating local authorities.
The campaign was created by Bacs Payment Schemes Limited, the not-for-profit organisation behind Direct Debit, and has already delivered savings in excess of £2.5 million for councils across London since its first outing six years ago. However, this is the first time that a similar campaign has been run for councils across Yorkshire.
Processing Direct Debit payments is cheaper and more efficient for organisations than alternative methods such as cheque and cash, and the campaign has delivered vital savings at a time when public finances are under increasing pressure.
The competition saw new and existing Direct Debit payers entered into a prize draw for the chance to claim £6,000. The lucky winner was a Calderdale resident, who has chosen to remain anonymous.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Steve Sweeney, said:
“We were delighted to take part in this campaign and work with Bacs to promote the use of Direct Debit as the preferred way to pay Council Tax, and it’s fantastic news that a Calderdale resident scooped the prize.
“We know paying bills is never high on anyone’s wish list, but choosing to pay by Direct Debit gives our residents one less thing to worry about each month.
“Just as important, however, is the fact that Direct Debit is a much cheaper way for us to process payments and the money that we save can be used for the benefit of local residents.”
Dawneth Perry, from Bacs, adds:
“We’re really pleased with the success of this campaign and we’d like to extend our thanks to the councils which participated so enthusiastically.
“It’s widely acknowledged that Direct Debit is the most cost effective method for local authorities to collect Council Tax payments and, using the results of our London campaign – which has delivered over £2.5 million in costs savings since its launch in 2010 – as an example, it clearly show what can be achieved through combined efforts.”
The four local authorities which took part in this year’s campaign were Bradford, Calderdale, Doncaster and Kirklees