The irony of calling Citizens Advice

[Jules13]

I tried calling citizens advice about money worries and benefits as advised by many on here. The irony of this is that I was on hold for over 15 minutes with no one picking up the phone the other end, at a charge of 55p per minute calling from my mobile. I don't have a landline. So it cost me over £8. I had to hang up because I couldn't afford to be kept on hold. Great.

[Neonkittie17]

Is your local office near enough to make an appointment/call into? In my experience re highways and environmental issues I phoned my CAB for, they just said .. We can't give any legal advice and I think you know as much as I do!!

[Beverley-NRAS]

have you tried calling Turn2Us? They give free benefit, grants and financial advice:

0808 802 200 Mon- Fri 8am - 8pm

Beverley (NRAS Helpline)

[Jules13 in reply to Beverley-NRAS]

Thanks Beverley. Is it also free from land line?

[Beverley-NRAS in reply to Jules13]

0800 and 0808 numbers are free from all landlines.

[Lesley_ann in reply to Jules13]

Hi Jules,

I don't know what area you are in but theres a charity who specializes in money problems and benefits among other things I dont know if they are all over the country but they are definitely in the Midlands. They are called Pace.

Good luck Linda x

[ITYFIALMCTT]

If you were enquiring about calling an 0808 from a mobile, see: gov.uk/call-charges

[Jules13 in reply to ITYFIALMCTT]

Exactly. 55p per minute.

[ITYFIALMCTT in reply to Jules13]

That guide indicates that for 0808 numbers like Turn 2 Us, as suggested by Beverley-NRAS , it's free from mobiles . Can you contact your mobile supplier and clarify any access charges with them upfront?

If, for some reason, your package doesn't permit this, but you have call minutes, then this workaround might help: 0800buster.co.uk tho' again you might need to clarify any access charges.

If you package doesn't let you do this, this might definitely be time to ask your sister for use of her landline if she has one?

[Traceydc]

The CAB offices by me can be contacted via email. If you email them with your enquiry & leave your name & number they usually get back to you, mine did.

[pip12]

I went to CAB quite a few years ago now when my husband and I split up. My daughter was only a baby then. I was really struggling for money and One of the ladies in there was going to make a phone call for me but got told by somebody who I assumed was her boss no way was she to do it. She said you will have to sort it out yourself. So after telling them what I thought about their so called "advice" I left. Thank goodness I did sort it myself, but would never go to them for "advice" again.

[AARA]

Hi Jules13,

I am very sorry to hear that you were unable to contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau due to the cost of using your mobile phone.

Regarding Benefits. I have heard good things about a web. site called Benefits and Work. Lots of info. is free and more detailed information is available for a fee.

In some areas Welfare Rights offer a good service, provided by your Local Authority and often with sessions at your local library. Try calling your Local Authority to find out what, if anything, is available close to where you live.

With your complex situation I consider trying to see someone locally face to face at Citizens Advice is probably still going to be your best option. Accessing CAB services can be very challenging, and very time consuming and the service is very variable depending where you live. Some places see people by appointment, but most CAB services, at least for the initial visit, are on a first come first served basis. If you are lucky enough to have an office open all day, most days, a wait of several hours is not unusual, so take refreshments with you.

My local CAB is only open for 2 hours, twice a month. Why such an limited service? Quite simply a combination of lack of volunteers and a lack of money. Years of austerity and benefit cuts have dramatically increased the demand for CAB services. In some areas CAB used to get most of the local funding from Local Government. Well that has almost certainly been curtailed in recent years. When I trained at CAB the typical longstanding, highly trained volunteer, was a retired woman in her early to mid 60's. Increases in Women's State Pension Retirement Age has changed all that.

I fully appreciate that this is not what you want to hear just now, on top of all the other challenges RA is throwing at you. Sadly this is the reality of the Charitable Sector in the UK where the Government remains convinced it is "BUILDING A COUNTRY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE", except those with chronic illnesses, who are too ill to work and who sadly end up dependent not just on the NHS, but also needing financial assistance, in the form of State Benefits.

Years ago many CAB's would have had paid members of staff whose job it was to come to visit you at home, if you were as ill as you are right now. In some areas this might still be the case, but sadly, it is certainly no longer the norm. Apologies for the gloom an doom. It is just reality as I understand it to be.

I do hope that some aspects of your life begin to improve very soon.

AARA

[Jules13 in reply to AARA]

Doom. Gloom.

[helixhelix]

I've just spoken to my sister who is training to be a CAB advisor, and her advice is a) look at the website as it has most stuff on it b) email them or when you get through ask the person to phone you back.

She also said that CAB don't charge 55p - that's the DWP helpline?