Britons are wasting an estimated £1.1 billion(1) a year by not making the most of Direct Debit discounts.

New research from Bacs reveals that close to half of the nation (47%) are paying too much on their utility bills - and forking out millions in the process.

The estimated total UK spend on utility bills is more than £26 billion(2) per year - for cheque payers that’s an average of £3,132 per household. However, consumers stand to save up to £203(3) per household if they use Direct Debit to pay all these bills.

According to the findings, the country’s least money wise are people from Yorkshire. More than half (56%) fail to recognise the benefits of paying by Direct Debit and kiss goodbye to £121.5 million a year in the process.

The biggest savers however, are people in the South West with six in 10 (57%) automating their payments every month.

Michael Chambers from Bacs said: "Direct Debit provides peace of mind that a bill will get paid on time as well as providing a saving on household bills."

"Paying by Direct Debit can also help to organise finances because you know exactly when the money will leave your account. Plus it’s the clever way of paying - discounts for those using Direct Debit to pay their bills increased by a generous 20% from £169 in 2003 to £203 this year."

For more information about Bacs and our services visit Bacs key facts.

Contact Bacs press office.

Notes:
(1) This figure has been sourced from the annual Consumer Payments Survey March 2004 produced by Bacs. This figure has been reached by multiplying the percentage of those that do not use Direct Debit per household per region by the average savings available for Direct Debit bill payers (£105.12)
(2) This figure has been sourced from the Consumer Payments Survey and has been reached by multiplying the combined average expenditure for payment of electricity, gas, telephone, breakdown services, health and satellite bills by the number of households in the UK (23,852,721 - sourced from the Office of National Statistics 2001)
(3) This saving is based on the maximum discounts available (from all service providers throughout the UK) for UK households/individuals using Direct Debit to pay bills.

Total savings with separate fuel bills £91.75

Total savings with dual fuel £105.12

* This figure is the average saving available from all service providers throughout the UK

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