Mary, visited the Conduit Scotland, Dunfermline shop looking for a £100 loan as she had received an unexpected bill and her pension was not due to be paid for a couple of weeks.
Whilst Jackie, Customer Service Officer, was helping Mary to complete her application, she noticed a number of her bills were extremely high. This included her council tax, gas and electricity bills and also her rent. Jackie informed Mary that it might be beneficial for her to visit her local council office and discuss her council tax and housing benefit, just to ensure she is claiming all of the correct benefits and discounts for her circumstances.
Jackie also gave Mary the details of Cosy Kingdom to help with her gas and electricity bills; they are a free and impartial energy and debt advice service available to all tenants and homeowners across Fife.
The overall conversation resulted in a huge success and Mary received just under £2,000 rebate from her council tax and housing costs. She also received a large reduction on her rent charges, as she qualified for housing benefit.
Mary also benefited from a home visit from staff at Cosy Kingdom, to provide energy efficiency advice to reduce her gas and electricity bills. Mary was absolutely delighted and said she had no idea that this level of support and advice was available when she came in to the Conduit Scotland shop and Conduit are really a different kind of lender!
Since her first visit, Mary still regularly pops into the Conduit Scotland shop for a cup of tea and a chat with the Customer Service Officers. She also informed them that she has now been able to treat herself to a new coat and some new clothes which she has not been able to do for a very long time.