Questions about our Services
1. What services do the Bureaux provide?
Most of the work we do is about:
- Welfare benefits
- Debt / money
- Consumer
- Housing and homelessness
- Relationship and family problems
- Employment
There are many other issues such as tax, immigration and law that we also advise on.
Detailed information about these & others topics may be found on our national web site at www.adviceguide.org.uk
During our opening hours advice is given by telephone, and face to face by fully trained advisers, except in Halesworth which operates a face to face advice service only. We operate a drop in service and appointments are not available for general advice. The limited amount of space and numbers of staff available will affect how quickly you can get access to our services.
All advisers are trained to deal with all subjects although we have specialist advisers in the following areas:-
- Welfare Benefits
- Debt
Specialists will usually help by supporting the adviser you are seeing and following up advice where needed. You may be referred to a specialist if this is thought to be necessary.
* your own ability to manage
* the complexity or seriousness of the case
* bureau resources / staff availability
2. Who are CAB advisers?
CAB advisers come from all sorts of backgrounds, and many of them are volunteers. All of them undergo thorough training, and all their work has to meet nationally set standards. Most volunteers are in the Bureaux for only one or two days per week, so it is not always possible to see the same adviser. All cases are recordedon our virtual private network, so any adviser can follow up a case from an earlier date.
3. How is the CAB run?
The CAB service is completely confidential and independent and is run by a voluntary Trustee Board. They administer the funding to pay the core staff for the day to day running of the Bureaux, as well as for the two specialist posts. Most funding for the core services comes from Waveney District Council and Suffolk County Council, with extra money for specialist services from the Legal Services Commission. Trustee Board members come from a range of organisations and meet regularly to ensure the bureau is running properly. Members of the Trustee Board do not have any access to confidential case records.
4. What if you can't sort out my problem?
If we can't help you, we can usually refer you on to someone who can! In some cases, where it is a law or policy that is causing the difficulty, we can take up the issue and work to change things. We do this locally as well as through our national Citizens Advice network. Sometimes this work can be very successful in improving things for everyone.
5. What if I have a complaint?
All complaints are taken seriously and we are always keen to know of any problems so that we can improve our service. In the first instance, complaints should be addressed to the Bureau Co-Managers. We also have a leaflet explaining our complaints procedure in full is available in each bureau or can be sent to you on request. If you would like to make any suggestions about how we can improve our service, write or e-mail to the Bureau Co-Managers or speak to the Superviser on duty.
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