Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Broadcasting House, Portland Place
London
W1A 1AA
Contact
Jonathan Palfreeman
Telephone
+44 1234567890
Fax
+44 1234567890
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
http://www.bbc.co.uk/supplying/
Buyer's address
https://bbc.bravosolution.co.uk/
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Other activity
Broadcasting
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Simple Payment Plan
Reference number
PROC 2022 01 JP
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 79940000 - Collection agency services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Provision of administration services for the “Simple Payment Plan”.
The Simple Payment Plan provides a payment scheme for a selected group of customers that is simple, affordable and flexible. To deliver against these key features, the Simple Payment Plan has been designed to:-
- target low income households to help increase revenue income and reduce both first time prosecutions and repeat offending;
- allow customers to spread their payments over the 12 month term of their licence, i.e. £159/12;
- run for a term of 4 years, with the option to extend on two occasions of one year each.
The Service Provider will manage the accounts of customers on the scheme end-to-end. Specifically, Service Providers will be required to offer the following services:
i. collecting the licence fee, according to the regulations and as set out in any individual customer payment plans (including arrears management, payment processing and reconciliation services);
ii. campaign management services;
iii. fulfilment services;
iv. inbound and outbound customer communications services (including call centre facilities);
v. technology services;
vi. data management; and
vii. analytics
It should be noted that the following services are not in scope for the Service Provider:
i. field services;
ii. PR and stakeholder communications; and
iii. customer recruitment
The main objective of SPP is to ensure appropriate levels of support are provided to eligible customers, with particular focus on individuals who are willing to pay, but who are facing financial difficulty.
Critical Success Factors of Simple Payment Plan:-
- Improved customer satisfaction;
- Positive impact on evasion and/or improvement in rate of licence purchase following prosecution statement (from TV Licensing Administrator);
- Improving Customer retention and revenue rates;
- Reducing the number of Customers that fail to pay anything towards their licence – referred to as Leavers Never Paid (LNP);
- Promoting Customers renewing their licences;
- Facilitating Customers managing their payment account digitally end to end.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £42,000,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Service Provider will collect the licence fee from customers on the Simple Payment Plan via a range of payment methods and channels, and be responsible for:-
i. Issuing licences and payment plans to recruited customers on the scheme;
ii. Providing and managing various customer payment methods, as outlined in the table
above;
iii. Collecting the licence fee from customers via a variety of payment channels, including at a minimum: a contact centre; online, interactive voice response (IVR) and mobile applications;
iv. Identifying and, where appropriate, introducing new customer payment channels, in line with best practice within the market place and developments in technology;
v. Processing Simple Payment Plan applications and issuing payment cards to include replacements;
vi. Identifying, managing and collecting from accounts in arrears (see section 4.1.1 for further specifics on this requirement);
vii. Revoking licences where the licence fee is uncollected;
viii. Cancelling licences in appropriate circumstances where a customer has only partially paid the licence fee and ensuring accurate payment data is provided to the TVL administrator;
ix. Providing refunds to customers, where applicable;
x. Providing accurate accounting and clear management information regarding collection services, to be reported to the BBC on a monthly basis;
xi. Providing detailed analysis in regards to scheme performance and recommendations for improvement;
xii. Providing marketing communications and print facilities which are fit for the customer groups and meet quality control requirements;
xiii. Securely managing the flow of funds received from customers (including funds received from over the counter suppliers), reconciling funds received versus licences issued and disbursing monies received to the TVL Administrator;
xiv. Administering bank accounts with appropriate internal controls;
xv. Putting in place preventative measures and developing mitigation techniques to prevent the occurrence of fraud by customers and/or employees;
xvi. Providing a comprehensive investigation and prompt response/rectification of customer complaints, in accordance with the BBC’s complaint management framework;
xvii. Using root cause analysis to continually improve service support and reduce systematic errors and issues; and
xviii. Ensuring that processes comply with all relevant legislation and BBC Policies.
The Service Provider will manage and collect arrears proactively from customers who default or who are likely to default on payments; support customers to maintain payments, and manage the collection of arrears via the appropriate inbound and outbound channels. The Service Provider will manage potentially high volumes of low value arrears using techniques that balance cost effectiveness with revenue collection.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: Merit / Weighting: 100
Quality criterion - Name: Whole Life Cost / Weighting: 100
Price - Weighting: 100
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of options
The initial term of the contract is for a period of 48 months. The contract may be extended on two occasions by up to 12 months on each occasion, meaning the maximum potential term is 6 years in total.
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Competitive procedure with negotiation
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number: 2022/S 000-003801
Section five. Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
19 April 2024
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 4
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Wescot Credit Services Limited
Hull
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
The contractor is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot: £42,000,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
In the case of technology requirements, the BBC may involve its technology partner (Atos IT Solutions and Services Limited) to assist in the scoping and drafting of invitations to tender and/or the evaluation of tenders. However, the final decision as to which is the most economically advantageous (by reference to the award criteria) will be made by the BBC. The awarding authority reserves the right not to award a contract and to annul the procurement process at any stage. Tenders and all supporting documents must be priced in sterling and all payments will be made in sterling. The contract shall be subject to English law. The awarding authority does not bind itself to accept the lowest, or any tender and reserves the right to accept part of a tender unless the tenderer expressly stipulates otherwise in the tender document.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Business and Property Courts of England and Wales – TCC
Rolls Building, 7 Rolls Building, Fetter Lane
London
EC4A 1NL
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures
As stated in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The applicable review time limits shall be as stated in Regulations 92 and 93 Public Contracts Regulations 2015.