PHONING CITIZENS ADVICE.....the truth!

They say all publicity is good publicity but for us this hasn't been the case during the last week. The subject of call charges to Citizens Advice has been raised in the press. We thought it would be helpful to our many clients in the Wyre Forest area to clarify the situation.

At Citizens Advice we strive to keep call costs as low as possible for our clients whilst ensuring our telephone numbers are compatible with the systems that increase our capability for answering the maximum number of calls.

We have chosen non geographical numbers to allow us to deliver calls to multiple locations across Worcestershire depending on the availability of our staff and volunteers. Our 0844 number charges are from 5p per minute and the 03 number can be used to call from mobiles as part of a clients mobile contract. Many of us have free minutes as part of this package. For others the call charges from a mobile can be very low. We will cease to use the 0844 number from September 2014 when all our numbers will be 03 numbers. We do not make a profit from our telephone service as has been suggested, and all the advice we give is free!

Many people don’t realise that Citizens Advice is a charity staffed mainly by volunteers who give of their time free of charge.

You can contact Citizens Advice in a variety of ways for free and impartial advice on a wide range of issues as follows:

Website Advice: www.adviceguide.org.uk

Free Telephone Advice: 0300 330 0650 (from a mobile) )844 4111 303 (from a landline)

Appointments at Wyre Forest Bureau: 01562 60194

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