Are the Citizens Advice Bureau crap...

savemoney

Lets not forget there service is free, they volunteers dont get paid and they have a very small amount of money from councils/donations to keep things ticking over. In mean time they are busy due to recession etc and may also have a limited amount of helpers

flora48

I was a CAB volunteer for a number of years, each adviser has to undergo a rigorous training and training is on going for all advisers. I was astounded by the amount of work I had to put in to just to get qualified, all in my own time and all unpaid. Each week a volunteer puts in a least one day which is a very demanding day's work. Each case is recorded and subject to audit. I remain in awe of the knowledge that the few full time staff have, and their compassion in dealing with some very difficult cases.
Funding is hard to come by and the premises expensive to maintain. We ran an appontment system to try and keep waiting times to a minimum but there was not a day went by without a number of no-shows, these people having no regard to the fact that their action denies someone else the chance of an appointment.
I note that many, many news articles conclude by telling people that further help is available at their local CAB. The CAB is an important agency and it is time the it was recognised as deserrving Government funding so all bureaux can offer a full time service with out restriction.

ani_26

Mancunian wrote: »

Thanks for the info, yup Manchester Council enough said, top boys making more than the Prime Minister and making a lovely glass town hall extension!!?? . The one that refused me was trafford council Altricham, oh well.

Do u have any links to them, because with more people online they should set something up like this with lots of homeworking official admins that just tax deductable get expenses etc.

Maybe its because they are two completely seperate councils, Manchester Council and Trafford Borough Council, and if you had travelled from say an M22 or M23 postcode, which i think comes under Manchester Council, as opposed to WA14, etc, ( Altrincham ), which is Trafford Borough Council, would explain why there was an issue with the postcodes, albeit 90 mins later.


I personally can't praise the cab enough. They do their best with limited resources, and even their paid staff are being cut back next year. God help us all.

cajef

Mancunian wrote: »

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

I was informed by a CAB adviser that they will not give advice over the phone as they only have so many staff available at each centre and this would end up with them answering phone queries and not leave enough time for personal advice for callers at the centre, also they do not want the phone lines engaged when they are trying to get advice and sort problems for customers with various institutions and companies.

puppy999

Many years ago I used the CAB and they were brill they use to hav a visting solicitor once a wk but that as stopped......... they hav now moved into the town hall I really needed HELP 2008 I got there at 8.30am stood out side I wz 3rd in the Q when we got in filled out these forms its now 10.30 I wz told that they cud not see me and cud I come back at 1.00pm I had no money and had to walk around in the cold .......... when I got to see some one she said that they didnt know a solicitor who did legal aid but she said that a letter of complaint sud be wrote to this section of the council...(this wz for benefits) well it wz the worest thing that I cud hav done .................. I went for 18mths with no money all because of this letter ............... so sorry no I wud not go to the CAB ever again ...... and I found a solicitor that did legal aid ........so why did'nt they know about them ??
They wud be better off closed down for all the help I got .............

Mancunian

wow,

how a day or two have changed my views and is this Organisation (I never knew Charity) l

I Wonder if they are living on past glory and service and that currently has big big problems.

I am old and cannot remember any recent fundraising or marketing for a Charity can anyone else?

Are they just letting it wither to death and it'll give 'the peasants' (like me) have less voice and simply give up and die? (I'm nearly there)

Charities usually have BIG high salary people who generate a lot more revenue than that so whats wrong with it all?

BBC Panarama or C4 Dispatches coming up?

PS. thanks to all that work hard for CAB, spill the beans to the problems and to the people who work there and naffed off (and don't care less) tell us why!


WOW thats where the money goes:-



Gillian Guy

Chief Executive



Gillian Guy became Chief Executive (CEO) of the independent charity Citizens Advice, the body that leads, supports and promotes Citizens Advice Bureaux across England and Wales, as of 12 July 2010. She is the lead member of the Executive management team, who are together responsible for the day-to-day leadership and running of the organisation.
Gillian joined from Victim Support, where she was CEO and led a major programme of change and development. She was also instrumental in developing new and improved services for victims.
Previously Gillian trained as a lawyer and spent eleven years as CEO of the London Borough of Ealing. She is also a non-judicial member of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.



Shani Fancett

Membership Services Director


Shani Fancett took up her role as Director of the Membership Services Division in July 2007. This Division brings together the England Areas and Wales bureaux support services, audit services, advice policy and membership and standards.
Previously Shani worked for 10 years as Citizens Advice Director of IT Services and has been instrumental in driving through key IT changes, including our client case management system, and our internal service wide and public facing websites such as AdviserNet and Adviceguide. Shani was also the Lead Director for the Citizens Advice Change programme which involved reviewing all main areas of activity, and establishing a change programme to realise over £4 million per annum savings.
Prior to joining Citizens Advice Shani worked for Barnardos and she has also worked for West Glamorgan County Council and the Probation Service where she developed support and advisory services for Young Offenders.



Keith Gilbey

Strategic Development Director


Keith Gilbey took up his role as Director of Strategic Development in October 2007. Before joining Citizens Advice Keith spent over twenty years building a number of businesses ranging from an artist management and production company, manufacturing and a below the line marketing company.
Keith was most recently Director of Service Design and Strategy at Business Link London, where he pioneered initiatives on social enterprise and access to finance for disadvantaged communities. He has also been involved in the development of a number of significant change programmes in both large and small organisations.


John Humpston

Corporate Services Director


John Humpston joined Citizens Advice as Corporate Services Director in January 2008. John spent the previous five years as a Director in the voluntary sector at Groundwork and Crisis. Prior to that he led organisational development processes in membership organisations and the public sector.



Teresa Perchard

Public Policy Director


Teresa Perchard, Director of Policy at Citizens Advice since 2000, leads the development of policy on a wide range of social and consumer policy issues, including debt and financial exclusion and consumer protection. Prior to joining Citizens Advice Teresa has had over 12 years experience of developing and implementing policy on regulation, consumer protection and consumer representation through posts she has held at the Office of the Rail Regulator, the Office of Water Services and the National Consumer Council.


Citizens Advice organisational chart

ani_26

With regard to fundraising and marketing, we are bombarded with fundraising and marketing for charities,wherever we go, have'nt you noticed? Take a look around, next time you are out. Its everywhere.You'll be surprised. I personally never donate money to charity directly, although i do buy 99% of my clothes from charity shops, which i suppose could be classed as donating. Not that i've bought any clothes for, well, too long.

I can't remember the percentage, but virtually nothing of any donation goes to help the charity we are donating to. A miniscule amount, shockingly, which is why i won't donate money, ( if i had any ). Of course everything goes to all the adminstration, directors etc, of any company, and the real people at the bottom of any chain, are the people who really care, and are left to pick up the pieces, with limited resources. Its the same in any walk of life. The best way anyone can help any charity, is by giving their time and expertise, for free, in my eyes. I know we should'nt have to, but thats the way it is. But there are cutbacks on that too, as i believe, several years ago the nt were cutting back on volunteers, too. Remarkable. What a world we live in.

stevenr86

I currently volunteer at CAB and have become very concerned with what i am seeing, people are waiting 4 hours to see a Gateway assessor (thats me) who is unable to advice in any form! i recently had an MS sufferer and this is what happened-this person who travelled for around 12 miles to access the services we provide. after waiting nearly 2 hours to be seen it was established by me that they had 0.60p 'to their name' and no other form of income due to termination of their state support. after presenting to my 'supervisor' with the information i was informed to tell the client that they had to call for a crisis loan (not from CAB as "the job centre has phones...we are not a phone box"), the client clearly had mental health issues as well as MS, and made it clear that that they were unable to make the call to get the crisis loan or deal with the other issues (for which time was running out to action). i again presented to my 'supervisor' with this information and made a suggestion of a food voucher and an urgent appointment but i was told "if they cannot or will not call for a crisis loan then that is their problem" so in due form of the support i had been given and the instructions i had received i sent them away. With the same 0.60p and no food or help of any kind (besides assisted information-for which they could not read) and a promise that they would not waste their time returning to CAB. i remember hoping that the rain held off for their journey home.

the service DOES NOT help with: family law issues, business debt, housing issues, criminal law, attend appeals or hearings of any kind, probate, employment, consumer issues, banking issues, tax debt/issues of any kind, insurance (such as PPI), any court attendance, civil legal matters (except small debt) equity and trust law, home owners in any capacity, assistance with mental health services (such as finding an advocate) immigration, most debts over £5000 and if a person has savings then they are told to seek "special legal advice" as they will not get funding for any help they do give (they have funding from Legal Services Commission). plus if you have had advice but the debt or situation changes but your INCOME or personal situation does NOT change you will NOT GET any more assistance! i volunteer for 4 hours each day, in that time i see the advisors eating cakes and drinking coffee in the back office, clients waiting for them to finish their computer card games before being seen. victims of domestic violence sent away as "if they cant leave him/her then that’s not our problem" and to top that if a person presents (as happened to me) with threats against their children (child protection issues are not covered by CAB) then we are NOT allowed to tell Social Services...even if they (as they did with me) make clear threats against a small boy in their care! when i made a fuse i was "removed from the case due to heavy personal involvement which may damage the impartiality of the case" ITS A LEGAL REQUIRMENT TO REPORT CHILD PROTECTION ISSUES IN ANY FORM! but due to CAB's "confidential and impartial advice" they take that to mean no information leaves CAB. I CAN PROVE ALL I HAVE SAID HERE AND HAVE GONE TO A WHISTLE BLOWING ORGANISATION! BE WARNED THE OLD DAYS OF CAB HELPING YOU HAVE GONE!!!!