The city authorities of Lutsk have launched a new campaign to combat non-payers of housing and communal services. They decided to remind malicious debtors in an original way that it is necessary to pay off the debt or restructure it. A new project called "Evening Bell" has started operating in Lutsk. This is a system for notifying debtors by phone about debts for housing and communal services.
The larger they are, the more often the phone will ring in the debtor's home.
Lutsk residents owe 32 million hryvnias for gas, water and electricity. The new method of influencing non-payers – the "Evening Bell" project – is automatic telephone notification of debtors.
Several times a day a phone call rings in homes and the voice of conscience reminds about the debt and suggests how to get rid of it.
For two years, a similar program operated in Lutsk at the "Lutskteplo" enterprise. At that time, the activity of payers increased by 18%. In order for the heating season to start on time, Lutsk residents, regardless of social status and place of work, must settle their debts.
Otherwise, every day they will listen to telephone messages that remind them of the debt amount and recommend concluding a debt restructuring agreement within 10 days.
In the absence of an agreement, the debt will be collected through the courts. The largest number of malicious non-payers live in the "bedroom districts" of Lutsk. With the help of a computer program, one and a half thousand such families have been selected so far.
Telephone notification of debtors is differentiated. Debts within three thousand will be reminded once a day.
If more, they call twice. For those who owe more than five thousand, the computer calls twice in the evening and once in the morning. If the debtor hangs up, the call is automatically repeated until the information is listened to in full. "Evening Bell" cost the city three thousand hryvnias. But it has already produced its first results.
However, during the campaign it was not possible to avoid complaints. Error cases were recorded – respectable families were disturbed. At the city computing center they say that most likely the computer selected the wrong phone number of the debtor.