Council Tax payers who pay by direct debit could win an iPad.
The prize draw has been launched by West Dorset District Council and Weymouth and Portland Borough Council to encourage people to save time and pay by direct debit.
Paying by direct debit is more convenient for customers and also saves both councils money. It costs just 2p to process a direct debit payment compared to 16p for a card or £1.46 for a cash payment.
Councillor Robert Gould, Leader of West Dorset District Council, said: “This is a great prize and I hope it will encourage people to make the switch. Paying by direct debit is easy, safe and more convenient and you can sign-up very quickly online.
“I hope people will change to direct debit to save public money. We can all help make these savings so the council can spend more of the money it does have on services.”
Councillor Peter Chapman, Weymouth & Portland Borough Council’s Finance and Assets Portfolio Holder, said: “We are hoping this prize will prompt people to make the switch to direct debit, which is easy, safe, more convenient and will also help save your council money. In this tough financial climate we have to look at every possible way of saving money, so please support your council, sign-up for direct debit and you could win an iPad.”
You can sign-up for direct debit (and be automatically entered into the iPad competition) here: www.dorsetforyou.com/council-tax/direct-debit
Both councils are also urging Council Tax payers to sign-up for e-billing, as emailing accounts rather than posting them also saves money. This can be done here: https://www.dorsetforyou.com/online-services
Weymouth & Portland Borough Council and West Dorset District Council have already saved almost £3 million by joining together to create a shared services partnership, where a joint workforce delivers services for both areas. During the next three years Weymouth & Portland Borough Council need to make further savings of £2.1 million, whileWest Dorset District Councilneeds to save £1.9 million.
West Dorset District Council and Weymouth & Portland Borough Council collect the council tax for other public authorities and only keep around eight per cent and 16 per cent of the bill respectively. The rest is made up by charges from Dorset County Council, Dorset Fire and Rescue Service, Dorset Police and town and parish councils. The borough and district councils have no control over the charges these authorities choose to set.
The ‘Win an iPad’ competition is subject to terms and conditions. More information is available here: www.dorsetforyou.com/win-an-ipad. All direct debit payers across the Weymouth & Portland Borough Council area and West Dorset District Council area will be entered. The competition endson May 30, 2014 and the winner will be announced in June.
