Automated fine collection service
In June 2004, Eckoh and BT delivered an automated fine payment solution for West Yorkshire Magistrates' Courts services. The Courts Committee wanted to provide a better service to people willing to pay their fines on time and in full but with minimum fuss. The automated payment solution enables citizens to pay fines quickly and easily by phone using their debit or credit card details on a 24/7 basis. Card transactions are processed using BT BuyNet service, an online payment facility that features high levels of security and encryption technology.

Since deployment, the automated payment solution has resulted in a steady increase in fine payments of 35%, with more than 30% if fines beng paid out of office hours. Furthermore, the system costs can be as low as around 1p per pound colllected compaored to the former system which cost up to 20p per pound.

Benefits for HMCS
• Up to 95% reduction in cost of fine collection
• Over 35% increase in receipt of fine payments overall
• Extended customer service channel (over 30% fines paid outside of business hours)
• Frees up contact centre agents to focus on proactive payment enforcement
• Confident management of traffic peaks
• No up-front capital expenditure required
• Seamless backend integration into BT Buynet’s authorisation system

Benefits for HMCS Customers
• Callers can connect straight through on a no wait, no queue basis
• Secure processing and authorisation of debit or credit card details in real-time
• 24/7 availability means customers can call the service and pay fines at any time

West Yorkshire Magistrates Courts Committee's IT Manager
"The cost per pound is expected to come down by even further to 1p over two years, plus our collection rates have improved all round as our staff now have more time to chase harder-to-collect fines."