Paperless bill led to big wedding 'gift' for Burnley woman

Residents in Burnley were offered the chance by Burnley Council partners Liberata to enter the draw if they opted to receive this year’s council tax bill online, rather than a paper version, to cut down on red tape and save money, as well as reducing phone waiting times.

The names of all those that took up the paperless option were put into a hat and Toni Heys was the lucky winner.

She had £500 credited to her council tax account, effectively knocking that amount off her council tax bill for the year.

Toni said: "It was a wonderful surprise to be told I'd won. E-billing is easy to use and winning this prize will help my fiancée Jamie and I pay for our wedding next year.”

The draw was funded by Liberata and is part of wider efforts to encourage residents to go online to access council services.

Angela Simm, head of the revenues and benefits unit which is run by Liberata, said: “The more people we can encourage to switch to paperless billing, the more we can reduce administrative costs, and that saving can be put towards other council services. It also benefits residents in many ways by providing a quicker and more easily accessible service.”