Welsh Government
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“Defence Privilege Card saved me thousands on my new car”
A campaign providing benefits for Wales’ Armed Forces Community has exceeded all its targets in less than 10 weeks.
Last November, Public Services Minister, Leighton Andrews launched the Defence Privilege Card campaign. Running until June 2015, it has already successfully reached its aims of:
- Raising awareness amongst Wales’ Armed Forces Community of the benefits of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Privilege Card;
- Increasing membership in Wales to 25% of those eligible, and:
- Increasing the number of independent retailers accepting the Defence Privilege Card within Wales to over 50 stores.
At the start of the campaign 9,734 members had signed up to the card. There are now 11,866 members, an increase of 21.9% in membership in Wales in nine weeks.
In the rest of the UK the increase is around 6.67%.
Praising the campaign’s success, Leighton Andrews said:
“A tremendous amount of progress has been made since the start of the campaign with membership increasing on a daily basis.“We have already exceeded all our targets. Overall membership in Wales is currently 27% of those eligible, which is above target. 82 local independent retailers in Wales have signed up to the card in addition to 75 national retailers.”
The Defence Privilege Card is available to current and ex service personnel and gives card holders discounts on a range of goods and services at over a thousand high street businesses and companies across the UK.
David Griggs, 71 from Haverfordwest saved £2,000 on a new car after signing up to the card last year.
David served with the Royal Navy for 35 years. He then started volunteering as a caseworker for SAAFA, a charity which provides practical support and assistance to current and former soldiers, sailors and their families. It was through this role he found out about the card.
“It was easy to sign up to. I went online, paid £5 and received my card a few days later. I saw a return on my sign-up fee immediately through the 20% discounts offered in service stations.“Shortly after signing up for the card, I wanted a new car. I went onto the Defence Privilege Card website, typed in ‘cars’ and it gave me a list of dealers in my area which were offering discounts through the scheme.
“I found a local dealer offering £2,000 off a new Rio. The website suggested it was an online offer only but I decided to visit the garage in person and asked if they would match it.
“The salesman checked it out and everything was sorted in 10 minutes. I got a car that normally retails for £13,000 for £11,000.”
