Winter is here with many parts of the country recording heavy rain, and snowfall in higher lying areas. Minimum temperatures have even dropped to just one degree Celsius overnight in some cities emphasising the need to stay warm.
Every year, many families purchase items that will protect them from the cold such as blankets, shoes, and warm clothes. These items come at a cost and for some, a lay-by is the only way they can afford it. According to Jaap Hamman, Chief Executive Officer at PEP, “Many customers find themselves stretched financially and lay-bys offer some financial relief. It only requires a small deposit and can be cancelled at any time without penalties.”
In a bid to help families who were struggling to make ends meet, PEP launched the Lay-by Buddy initiative, inspired by an anonymous good Samaritan who, a few years back, settled the accounts of several random PEP lay-by customers. One year later, the fund has received over R1 million in contributions from over 5 700 individuals.
With the help of these contributions, over 26 000 lay-by customers have received vouchers to settle their outstanding lay-bys, enabling them to access the goods they really need sooner than expected.
*Cynthia* was one of the lucky PEP customers who were randomly selected to have their outstanding lay-by balance paid off. She says, “I am sincerely grateful for the voucher, it has really helped me as I was wondering how to pay it off as it is Winter and those clothes are really needed.”
To kick off the Winter drive PEP has committed to pay off one lay-by account in every one of their 2150+ South African stores up to the value of R250 000. PEP is encouraging the public to make further contributions in the hope of raising R600 000, which would match what was raised at the start of this year for their Back-to-School drive.
“For as little as the same cost as a cup of coffee, these funds will help to settle around 4,800 customer lay-by accounts.” says Jaap. Simply contribute from R2 in any PEP store or R20 online by scanning the QR code to be directed to www.pepstores.com/page/lay-by-buddy. Lay-by customers are selected at random and will receive
an SMS voucher to settle their outstanding PEP lay-by.
