Telford & Wrekin residents encouraged to swap to Direct Debit
Telford & Wrekin Council is encouraging residents to get on board a national campaign by switching council tax payments to Direct Debit.
The Big Break, created by Bacs Payment Scheme Ltd (Bacs), the people behind Direct Debit in the UK, is designed to encourage people to change the way they pay their bills.
Telford & Wrekin Council is supporting The Big Break campaign, and encouraging people who have yet to change, to pay their council tax by Direct Debit.
By switching to paying council tax to Telford & Wrekin Council by Direct Debit by the end of June, residents will be entered into the draw for £12,000 prize.
The campaign has been launched in response to Bacs’ latest research which has revealed that household bills have soared by a massive 40 per cent compared with pre-recessionary costs.
In 2007, the average annual total for regular household bills was £5,834. By the end of 2012, that had reached £8,202, a rise of almost £2,400 over just five years.
At the same time, personal bills such as mobile phone charges, personal loans and membership fees also grew from £3,830 before the economic downturn to £4,156 last year.
This makes for a total average of £12,358 going out on regular bills against an average UK salary of £26,500.
Councillor Bill McClements, cabinet member for Resources & Service Delivery, added: “We know that there are many more people struggling to cope with the cost of living today than were struggling before the recession.
“A family struggling to cope with the day to day bills can be pushed over the edge into financial despair if a large bill then arrives.
“Making as many payments as possible by Direct Debit can ease the financial strain of those one off bills and spread the cost of living out over the whole year and this is why we are fully supportive of the Big Break campaign.
“So, for every resident that sets up a new Direct Debit instruction to pay their council tax by the end of June, Telford & Wrekin Council will donate 10p to the Caring for Our Future appeal, which is raising money for the new Women’s and Children’s Unit at the Princess Royal Hospital.”
