British Gas Charity - Grant

chelle_bell

Hi All,

Does anyone here ever applied for this? If so what was your experience?

Thanks

Joyful

I work for British Gas and say that you have nothing to lose. I frequently speak to customers who are overjoyed at getting their debts paid and being able to start over with a clean slate. I have seen from hundreds to thousands written off over the years.

chelle_bell

Hey!!

Its not for me, its my brother but I will be helping him with fill it in and gather the info.

it seems they are looking for quite a lot of info. Think it will take a few days to sort that before applying. It looks great though, its really good that they are doing that. Just wondered if it was worthwhile going through the hassle.

I have just posted another 2 threads about British Gas, dont know if you would be able to help with that?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/62420331#Comment_62420331

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4703295



Thanks

Nada666

Why does it look great? What is so special about your brother that he deserves to be given £2,000 from British Gas' other customers? Is he at all likely to reform or will he just laugh in everybody's face (including his mother's)?

What problems does he have that makes him needy? Is he on a low wage and high childcare costs? Or has he just chosen to not bother to pay his bill?

chelle_bell

What are you saying? That I NEED to tell everyone the reason he's in this state. In response to that - no I dont. But you can keep asking if it makes you feel better.....still wont tell you. Know why? Because - ITS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. FULL STOP!!

However, keep asking if you feel the need.

Nada666

chelle_bell wrote: »

it seems they are looking for quite a lot of info

How terrible. Clearly charities should just hand out £2,000 to anyone who asks. They should make no attempt to determine whether the applicant needs or deserves their help.

As far as I can see the only information asked for is who you are, what your debts are, what your income is, what you spend your money on and to explain why and whether writing off the debt is going to help you in future. Hardly unreasonable.

chelle_bell

Lol such a sad life u have.

Why even bother replying, clearly you have nothing better to do, and that makes me feel really sorry for you to be honest.

Btw - your username is very fitting for the advice you've given.

fatbelly

I've applied for a few of these on behalf of CAB clients. My experience is that if you're an existing customer and you're asking for help to pay a debt, there's a good chance, particularly if a DRO/bankruptcy is a possibility.

If you are looking for help with a bankruptcy fee it's much less likely.

In either event they will probably write for further evidence/info, and you will only have a limited time to reply.

The scheme is run by Charis grants, and the other companies using them are EDF and Npower.

chelle_bell

thats really helpful. Thanks.

He wasn't sure about going ahead with the grant (wasn't sure if it would be worthwhile) but i've just told him about some of the replies and we're going to hunt through his paperwork tonight and find the necessary documents, the form itself online is fine and shouldn't take long.

macman

How could it 'not be worthwhile'? The worst that can happen is for the application to be declined. What's to lose in the circumstances?

chelle_bell

I meant time-wise!