CAF DONATE
Sample telephone script
The following script should be used if you are taking a new
Direct Debit instruction over the phone via CAF Donate
If the donor already has a Direct Debit with your organisation the script does not apply.
Donation details
Introduce Direct Debit option
“You can make regular donations via Direct Debit. Would
you like to set up a Direct Debit now?”
If donor agrees
“Thank you, could I please confirm that you would like
to support
[insert your primary fund or campaign fund
details]”
‘Can I confirm with you how much and how often you
would like to support?” (minimum £2 a month, usually
monthly or quarterly)
Confirm this amount and frequency back to the donor
“If you are a UK tax payer, we can claim Gift Aid on your
behalf which will increase the value of your donation at no
extra cost to you. For every pound you give, we will receive
an extra 25p from HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and
Customs). Are you a UK tax payer?”
If yes:
“Would you like to Gift Aid your donation?”
If yes:
“Thank you, I just need to read you the following Gift Aid
Declaration which we will also confirm in writing:
You confirm you wish us to Gift Aid this donation and any
donations you make in the future or have made in the
past 4 years. You are a UK taxpayer and understand that
if you pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than
the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all your donations in
that tax year, it is your responsibility to pay any dierence.
Please notify us if you want to cancel this declaration,
change your name or home address or if you no longer pay
sucient tax on your income and/or capital gains
Donor details
“Please can I take your full name? Is that Mr, Mrs, Miss,
Ms, Other?”
“Your personal details will be used to process your donation
and will not be passed on to any third party except for the
sole purpose of facilitating this payment.”
“Please can you confirm you are happy with this.”
“Additionally, we’d like to keep you informed about our
work in the future, are you happy for us to do so?”
If yes, please confirm their preferred contact method:
email, telephone or post
If email is preferred contact method:
“This email will be used to confirm your Direct Debit
instructions once we have set up the payment”
If email is NOT preferred contact method:
“Do you have an email address?”
If yes, please enter and confirm back to donor
“Please note we will use your email address to confirm your
Direct Debit instructions once we have set up the payment”
Address details
“Can I take your postal address please? Please note that
we will use your address in order to reclaim the Gift Aid.”
Please confirm address back to donor
Direct Debit details
“Please can you confirm that you hold a UK bank or
building society account and that you are the primary
account holder?”
If no, seek another method of payment and ask:
“As you are not the account holder, we will need to send the
account holder the Direct Debit instructions to complete
and return. Can I confirm the address to send this to?”
If yes:
“Can I confirm that you are the only person required
to authorise debits from this account?”
If more than one person is required to authorise
debits on the account, you will need to issue a paper
Direct Debit instruction and close the call.
If yes, capture bank details:
“Can you confirm the name of the account you wish
to be debited?”
“Can you confirm the branch sort code of the account
you wish to be debited”
(If unsure, ask caller to obtain details from their
cheque book)
“Can you confirm the account number of the account
you wish to be debited?”
(If unsure, ask caller to obtain details from their cheque
book or bank statement)
“Have you used this account before to set up a Direct Debit?”
If no, state that some banks or building societies may not
accept Direct Debits for certain types of account.
“For your monthly payment of £x [confirm amount] would
you like the money to come out of your account on either
the 1st or the 15th of the month?”
Click next – and go to confirmation page:
“I would like to confirm your account details back to you:
“The account name is xxxxx – is this correct?”
Donor confirms
“The account number is xxxxxxxx – is this correct?”
Donor confirms
“The account sort code is xx xx xx – is this correct?”
Donor confirms
“Your first payment will be on the xxxxxx {date} for £x
{amount} – is this correct?”
“The words ‘Charity Donation’ will appear on your bank
statement against your Direct Debit as we are using
Charities Aid Foundation to process your Direct Debit on
our behalf. If there are any changes to the date, amount or
frequency of your Direct Debit, we will always give you at
least 10 days notice in advance of your account
being debited.
“That completes the set up of your Direct Debit donation
to us. You will be sent confirmation of this no later than
10 working days before the first collection. All Direct Debits
are protected by a guarantee. I can read it to you now or
you can read it in our confirmation letter. Which would
you prefer?”
If answer is now:
“In the future if there is a change to the date, amount or
frequency of your Direct Debit, we will always give you
10 working days’ notice in advance of your account being
debited. In the event of an error, you are entitled to an
immediate refund from your bank or building society. You
have the right to cancel at any time and this guarantee is
oered by all the banks and building societies that accept
instructions to pay Direct Debits. A copy of the safeguards
under the Direct Debit Guarantee will be sent to you with
our confirmation letter.”
If later:
“That completes the setting up of your Direct Debit donation,
Thank you very much for your donation today. Goodbye.”
Registered charity number 268369
Charities Aid Foundation
25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill
West Malling Kent ME19 4TA
W: www.cafonline.org
T: 03000 123 800
E: cafdonate@cafonline.org
1870B/0416
