Cash Prize Available If You Pay Council Tax By Direct Debit
Sign up to direct debit for your chance to win £25,000
The prize is being offered by Bacs Payment Schemes Ltd (Bacs), the organisation responsible for direct debit. It has teamed up with Wandsworth Council and 16 other London boroughs in a drive to increase the use of this easy and convenient payment method.
People who sign up to the system before July 13 will be entered into the £25,000 prize draw. Residents who are already paying their bills by direct debit will also be automatically entered.
Direct debit is the cheapest and simplest way of collecting council tax and the savings it delivers can be returned to taxpayers in the form of lower bills. Seven out of every ten Wandsworth residents are already paying their bills this way and this saves the town hall tens of thousands of pounds each year.
Finance spokesman Cllr Guy Senior said: "There are lots of benefits for residents who use direct debit to pay their bills. It offers a safe, secure and convenient payment method and means they don't have the worry or inconvenience of having to remember to pay each month. Once they have signed up they literally never have to worry about it again.
"There are five different payment dates they can choose from each month to suit their own circumstances and as long as there is enough money in their bank account they won't ever miss a payment. And because direct debit reduces the costs incurred by town halls, the more people that sign up, the bigger the savings that can be passed back to taxpayers. Using direct debit can help keep council tax bills in Wandsworth among the country's lowest."
People can sign up to pay by direct debit using the council's fully automated 24 hour helpline on (020) 8871 7799. Alternatively visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk/counciltax, fill in a direct debit instruction form or contact your bank or building society.
Wandsworth's Band D bill for the next 12 months is £685. This compares to a London average of more than £1,300. Wandsworth's average bills remain the lowest in the country. People living near Wimbledon and Putney Commons and Putney Heath pay a small additional amount to the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators (WPCC) for the upkeep of these open spaces.
For more information about the £25,000 prize draw visit www.ddeasywinner.co.uk
March 12, 2013