Our principles

We are FREE

    • Free at the point of use.
    • We will never charge for the advice we give, nor for any of the services we provide.
    • We do not canvass contributions for postage, photocopying etc, although donations are always welcome.

We are INDEPENDENT

    • We are independent of central and local government.
    • Although we receive funding from the local council (and our national association receives funding from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy ), we are an individual registered charity, and cannot accept funding that impinges on our independence.

We are IMPARTIAL

    • We do not take sides in any dispute, although we do act in the best interests of our client.
    • For this reason, we are unable to act for both parties in a dispute.
    • If we are contacted by the other party, we can refer them to another Citizens Advice or other appropriate agency for independent advice.

We are CONFIDENTIAL

    • Our service is confidential to you.
    • We will not tell anyone outside the Citizens Advice Service what you have told us, or even that you have visited us at all, unless you say we can.
    • This applies in all circumstances, whatever you tell us.
    • In turn, this means we are able to give you complete and accurate advice, because you can tell us all the facts about you enquiry.

We have achieved the Generalist Quality Mark from the Advice Quality Standard (AQS), and Casework status in debt, benefits and employment. We are audited regularly to ensure compliance with AQS and Citizens Advice standards. If we need to refer clients to other organisations, we seek to ensure that they are also AQS accredited, so that clients can be sure of a competent, reliable service, and of a high standard.