The 2007 Direct Debit Challenge details 

Each year the standard of entries received is extremely high and this year was no exception making the judging session more and more difficult. The submissions received were evident of the amount of effort local authorities put in throughout the year to promote Direct Debit to their customers and that shows in the results achieved.

Entry to all the awards was FREE and the winners of the awards were announced at the Institute of Revenues, Rating & Valuation (IRRV) annual conference in October.

Award categories for 2007 

Council Tax award
There were six Council Tax awards. Local authorities with similar wealth indices were grouped into six categories (red, blue, green, yellow, purple and orange) to ensure each one was measured against others with a similar customer profile, based on factors such as household type, employment type, number of persons in the household and average household income. There was an award for the winner of each of these categories.

The winners were the local authorities that achieved the highest increase in Direct Debit penetration for council tax over the preceding 12 months. The increase in penetration was calculated by the increase in Direct Debit payers, divided by the total number of payers (excluding zero bills) as at 30 June, times 100. For example, if an authority moved from 50% penetration to 55%, its increase was 5%.

Business Rates award
This award went to the local authority that achieved the highest increase in Direct Debit penetration for business rates over the preceding 12 months. The increase in penetration was calculated by the increase in Direct Debit payers, divided by the total number of payers (excluding zero bills) as at 30 June, times 100.

New Entrant award
This award was presented to the local authority that has not previously entered the Challenge, and that achieved the highest percentage increase in Direct Debit penetration in council tax, measured against their index.

Marketing Campaign Achievement award
This was awarded to the local authority that ran the most effective Direct Debit Marketing campaign. This award was judged on information and examples of relevant marketing evidence and literature submitted with the entry. For more information on the award criteria refer to the document below.

Award criteria (43 Kb PDF)

Prizes

Each winner received £500 to donate to a charity of their choice plus support to achieve local PR coverage. All local authorities that were commended received a certificate of achievement.

All entries submitted before the closing date were automatically entered into a prize draw, giving them the chance to win £500 to donate to charity of their choice.

If you would like assistance on how best to promote Direct Debit to your customers, contact Dawneth Perry on 0870 920 8624 or d.perry@bacsservices.co.uk.