Residents pick n mix with new rent payment initiative
April 2008 - THOUSANDS OF North Hampshire residents can now grab a bag of pick ‘n’ mix and pay their rent at the same time.
Sentinel Housing Association has teamed up with Woolworths for the unusual deal, where the high street retailer has amended its Allpay paypoints to take cash or cards so tenants can pay their rent more easily.
The initiative is part of a package of different ways to pay, and anyone calling in at Woolworths in Fleet, Aldershot, Farnham, Basingstoke, Newbury or Farnborough will be able to keep their account up to date – even on a Sunday.
More than 5m UK residents now own an Allpay swipe card which makes it much easier to pay rent, council tax, and bills, without having to visit different offices. Payments show up the next day on customer accounts.
Caroline Higley, Woolworths’ project manager, says: “This is a fantastic deal that offers a host of benefits to both parties. Taking allpay into a well-known high street store delivers over 800 new convenient locations for allpay.net and, for Woolworths stores, accepting allpay.net cards and bills offers greater convenience and flexibility to its customers that use the allpay system.”
Sentinel Accounting Manager Bob Gath said: “Many of our customers are on low incomes and prefer to deal in cash, and as we don’t have a high street presence, this is a great way to keep rent accounts up to date while browsing the aisles of Woollies.”
The move is part of a wider raft of measures to help people struggling with higher costs during the current ‘credit crunch’.
Bob adds: “We’re aware that residents have lots of extra costs at the moment, and we’re doing all we can to help prevent them going into arrears. The vast majority of our customers never go into the red, but there’s nothing more stressful than losing your home because of arrears. We’re encouraging all our customers who don’t have bank accounts to give the Allpay system a go.”
Tony Killeen, allpay.net’s managing director, says: “Teaming up with such a renowned retailer will ensure that our clients and their customers continue to benefit from the convenience of the High Street. By offering such great choice we can continue to fight financial exclusion.”
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