Adey ProClub Service Plans

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Setup GoCardless: FAQ's

The bank which supports the GoCardless direct debit scheme is required to honour the customer’s direct debit guarantee, which includes ensuring a suitable vetting and monitoring process for direct debit providers. It is therefore normal for you to be requested to provide information about your business and about the payments you wish to take via direct debit, in order that GoCardless and its sponsor bank can satisfy their vetting and monitoring obligations.

You must, of course, provide your own answers to any questions raised as part of your GoCardless setup. However, the type of questions may be unfamiliar to you, and so this document is provided by TradeHelp as a support resource.

Please provide a description or list of the payments that you wish to process via GoCardless?

An example response for payments taken through TradeHelp Office software would be:

– These would be monthly instalment payments for annual boiler servicing plans.

Within the plans / cover that you offer, are customers guaranteed a service in exchange for the payments that they make?

An example response would be:

– Each plan always includes a guaranteed annual boiler service.

Please outline the steps that you follow if a customer stops making payments towards their plan or wishes to cancel midway through.
The terms and conditions of the plans provided through TradeHelp Office provide that the customer may cancel their plan at any point. If a customer cancels, or stops making payments, then it would be usual to contact the customer to understand the reason for this and to understand if they are dissatisfied in any way. Refunds are always payable if a customer cancels within the first 14 days of a plan and no work has been carried out under the plan at that time. Beyond that, refunds will depend on the terms and conditions of the plan and on whether work has been carried out which has not been paid for.
What percentage of payments that are collected via GC, will relate to the service being provided in the future?

This question is asking how far in advance you are likely take payment. An example response would be:

– Payments are taken between 30% and 90% in advance depending on what plan is selected and when the service is carried out.

Explanation
If you are providing service only plans and will only sign up customers to these plans at the time of their service, then you are collecting 90-100% of payments in advance (as you will have received all, or virtually all, of the instalments prior to undertaking the service).
The position is more likely to be closer to 50% collection in advance if you will be happy to put customers on a plan so long as you are getting at least half the payments in advance; and/or you are providing service plans which include some of the cost of parts – and you may be expected to attend prior to the planned service date if one of those parts requires repairing.
At the other end of the spectrum, if you are happy to place the majority of your customers onto a service plan irrespective of the date of service – as you are confident they will make payment and you do not mind providing the service in advance of full payment, then the percentage of payments collected relating to the future is likely to be less than 50%.

If you charge fees in advance, how far in advance are these payments charged? Please provide a percentage breakdown.

This is connected to your answer to the question above, about the percentage of payments you are intending to collect in advance. GoCardless is seeking to understand how far in advance payments are taken. An example response would be:

– Up to 50% of payments are taken less than 6 months in advance of annual service and repairs
   Up to 50% of payments are taken more than 6 months in advance of annual service and repairs

Explanation:
So, in the first example provided for the question above, if you are providing service only plans and will only sign up customers to these plans at the time of their service, then you are collecting approximately 8-9% 11 months in advance, 8-9% 10 months in advance, 8-9% 9 months in advance etc.
In the second example, it would perhaps be more like (for the example where you are happy to allow customers onto a plan so long as you cover half of your costs in advance) 50% of payments being 6 months in advance and 50% being 11-12 months in advance; or (for the example where you are providing service plans which include the cost of some parts/repairs) 70% of payments being 4 months in advance and 30% of payments being 9 months in advance.
In the final example, the percentages would perhaps be closer to 50% of payments being made 3 months in advance and 50% being made 6 months in advance.
Hopefully these examples will assist you in understanding how to express your expected payment receipts.

What is the average transaction value of your payments?

This is asking for the average monthly plan cost of the plans you wish to sell through GoCardless. An example response would be:

– The average transaction value is between £8 and £13 per month

For example, if you have 20 plans at £7 per month, 20 plans at £10 per month and 20 plans at £13 per month, the average transaction value would be £10. If you are not currently providing plans, just estimate what you expect to be the case in the first 12 months of using GoCardless.

What is the largest transaction value you would like to collect through GoCardless?

This is asking for the highest monthly amount you would charge for a service plan. An example response would be:

– The maximum monthly payment would be £25

What is the value of chargebacks as a % of the total value of payments collected?

Chargebacks are situations where you have taken payment from a customer and you are then required to repay it, as you have taken it in error. If you already run any type of payment scheme then you may have an actual “chargeback” figure. Otherwise review whether you have had to repay customers any funds taken in error over the previous 12 months. If you have not then your figure is likely to be zero, i.e. <0.1%.

What is the value of payment failures as a % of the annual value of payments?
A payment failure is a situation when a customer has failed to pay you for services, because their card has been declined or their bank has insufficient funds. The question is asking what proportion of your total income this represents. Again, if you already collect recurring payments then you will have a clear figure for this. If you do not then your figure is likely to be <0.5% unless you are aware of a significant number of defaults.