Direct debit campaign
Why are we promoting Direct Debit?
- Direct debit is the cheapest way for the Council to collect Council Tax payments.
- If you use Direct Debit you can choose when to pay:-
Monthly - on 1st or 15th (10 months)
Fortnightly - on a Friday (21 instalments)
Weekly - on a Friday (42 instalments)
You now have the choice of extending your payments through to March:-
Monthly - on 1st or 15th (12 months)
Fortnightly - on a Friday (26 instalments)
Weekly - on a Friday (52 instalments)
- There is no need to complete a form, all details can be set up from a phone call to our Local Taxes Team (01738) 477430.
Who has been involved in the campaign and what have we done to get the message out to customers?
- Staff - within the Local Taxes Team based at Pullar House have actively been encouraging customers to change to Direct Debit payment.
- Staff also contacted customers paying their rent by Direct debit, in order to offer the same option to pay their Council Tax.
- Local offices have posters and leaflets[pdf - 3MB] advertising the campaign.
- Scottish Water - have actively been on board with the campaign as this assists in collection of water & sewerage charges which are incorporated in the Council Tax bill and collected by the council on behalf of Scottish Water.
- During August/September 2007, Radio Tay/Heartland Radio aired a 40 second commercial to promote Direct Debit.
How successful has the campaign been so far?
Total DD Payers
|
Month |
% DD Payers |
|
Apr-07 |
61.06% |
|
Sep-08 |
65.68% |
What are our plans?
Future plans include having staff available at local offices to discuss Direct Debit with customers, outlining the benefits of paying by Direct Debit.
The wider plan is to discuss our campaign with other areas within the council who also provide services which would benefit from their customers paying by Direct Debit.
Direct debit superhero campaign
You can listen to an audio clip of the superhero campaign [mp3: 948Kb].
If you are having problems playing this clip, refer to our help guide on playing audio clips.
Audio script
We have provided a textual script of the campaign if you wish to read the script online as you listen or if you have difficulties listening to the audio version.
Customers in Queue: (background 'chit-chat')
Female voice: I only popped in during my lunch hour to pay, but I can?t afford to be late back to work
Male voice: I know, feels like you spend half your life standing in queues. I wish there was a quicker, easier solution
Sound effects: Flash/Bang!
Superhero voice: Worry not! If you live in Perth and Kinross make one simple phone call to set up a monthly Direct Debit for your Council Tax. Payments are made on either the 1st or 15th of each month, over 10 or 12 months. Just call Perth 477 430.
Female voice: (Sounds excited) Great! What was the number again?
Superhero voice: Perth 477 430
Announcer: You don't need superhero powers to set up a direct debit for your
council tax if you live in Perth and Kinross. Just call Perth 477 430
Media player download Instructions
