Are the Citizens Advice Bureau crap...

Mancunian

... or is it just my area (and possible luck)


Over the years the CAB had been very useful but earlier this year I tried to get there help.

1. Getting a phone number to talk to someone was unsuccessful

2. I found out that the local office had closed- it's a bit of a deprived area so i think they don't need to bother.

3. The office they recommended was really bad to get to and needed 2 buses to get there.

I found a nearer one to me only 20 minutes away and went to the office. I filled in the required form - name, address and problem and patiently waited for 90 minutes.

The lady I saw went through all the details and I was really happy that someone was at last looking at my problems. She asked me to wait a couple of minutes and put a few pounds into the donation.

Imagine my disgust and anger when came back in 'jobs worth' mode and said I didn't live in the correct county and postcode and could not help me.

Angry and on the bus home I remembered that they had had my address details from when I went in.

Comments?

Butlers1982

Yes they are,they no a little about a lot of things but offer no real information

bris

No they are not, they provide a valuable service to the people who need them the most. Just because some of us already know most of the info they can provide doesn't mean everybody does. They will always help with pointers and letters to the correct people but there is only so much they can do and the rest is up to the individual.

AsknAnswer2

I think it varies from one office to the next, like most services. I've come across some offices who give people really good advice, backed up by legislation and I've come across some who give completely wrong advice based only on the individual volunteers personal opinion of how things should be.

zppp

bris wrote: »

No they are not, they provide a valuable service to the people who need them the most. Just because some of us already know most of the info they can provide doesn't mean everybody does. They will always help with pointers and letters to the correct people but there is only so much they can do and the rest is up to the individual.

Absolutely agree. Many of the people working in the Citizens Advice Bureaus do so voluntarily as well. I think their Advice Guide website is outstanding regarding consumer related issues, with alot of self-help information. I especially agree with bris in that they can only offer the advice, the problem is not their responsibility and I think people lose sight of this.

Mancunian

does anyone know about them not helping people who arent from the relevant postcodes/ county? funding?

if this was the case and it had been handled right then that would have been fine.

paddyrg

OMG!!! Such terrible service!! Demand a full refund!!!!

Oh, that's right, it's free, staffed almost exclusively by volunteers who are trying to help, bureaux are getting shut down all the time due to lack of funds, yet they struggle on trying to provide free unbiased basic rights support to people *despite that*

Mancunian

They shut the office in one the uk most deprived area's AND I DID put £3 in the before she told me to 'do one'- I DO want a refund

mountainofdebt

I'm guessing but the postcide restrictions may have something to do with the way that the CAB is funded

So if a council is assisting with funding then that would explain why they couldn't help the OP if he was living in a different council area.

pulliptears

I had pretty much the same experience as the OP to be honest. Couldn't get through for days, local offices closed and when we did finally get to speak to someone they couldn't have been more useless.

passatrider

If you are disgruntled with the service that you have received then why not Volunteer for them yourself?