Citizensadvice Reviews 631

Hoped to get some useful advice from someone but the man basically told me to do all the work myself. If I knew who to speak to over my issues I would have sorted them out. He didn't even give me any useful contacts at the council so I could contact them direct.
As soon as I said that I was disabled with physical and neurodivergent conditions he switched to speaking in a singy-song la-la land voice and kept making comments like "You are doing VERYYYYY WELLLLL on the telephone today,"
I might be have life long health conditions but I also have two Social Science degrees; all I wanted here was some advice on how resolve a problem with the local council as they are not being very helpful at all.
I really don't understand why this organisation continues to be funded.
I asked the man how someone with learning disabilities or who has basic skills deficits was supposed to follow his advice. He took that to mean I had the literacy problems and said in a simpering voice not to "do yourself down."
Nearly 20 minutes of my life I won't get back and still in the dark about what to do next.
More work in a Beecham's Pill...

Thank you to Citizens Advice for your help. Your advice about my consumer rights meant that my issue was resolved quickly. The advisor I spoke to was very efficient and explained everything thoroughly.

I sent them a message over a week ago . No reply and tried to call twice this week, they said I need to speak to the Norfolk one which was option 4 and wait . Waited 50 minutes one day then 40 the next no answer . Joke really .

Though the calling process, wait time and ways of booking an appointment are incredibly tedious and give you a headache, the actual appointment I manage to book with Kieron in Liverpool was so helpful. He was very understanding, informative and patient, and helped me understand what next steps were needed to be taken along with assisting with online stuff that I struggled to do on my own. He is clearly very good at his job. Thankyou!

I don't know why cab are there cos they actually don't help.Their phonelines send us round in circles.If finally after days,we get thru,they fob us off,shut doors on us,let us down,contradict what is stated their website re what they help with,SOwaste hrs ofOURtime&the problem we need help with COMPOUNDS!So, citizens advice upset and frustrate us when we have a problem we need help with.So they compound the initial problem we are trying get help with and make it worse.So citizens advice are actually harmful, not helpful!
They today have really harmed an already vulnerable & harmed, impacted person....but there are certain people, they bend over backwards to help.... But believe you me, it's not us British born & bred citizens who are lawabiders!!!!!

We went to Leiston CAB and they were incredibly helpful, going through the forms we were filling in with great patience, detailed approach and contributions, additional thoughts and information during the 3 hours Sharon - our advisor that day - spent with us. Sharon was excellent can't praise her enough and has followed up with an email with more information

Unfortunately if you aren't British citizen don't expect much of a support from this organisation. The town I'm located Burnley they won't help you and will send you away because you aren't British citizen and white which is shocking double standards.
Maybe I should raise it with a solicitor under Equality act 2010 as been discriminated by them on multiple occasions now because of my ethnicity and origins.

I was helped by Mr Joseph Larkin. He was very helpful gave me the right advice. I had no idea what to do . He kept me informed all the way. I really am thankful for the Citizen Advice.

If you have a problem don't ring citizens advice I tried 4 times all automated chat , answer all questions then the Bot say sorry !!! at present all advisors busy.
Google be better than this rubbish service

Most Horrible & Disrespectful person on the Phone line. I have been bullied by my landlord and they try to send me back to them. When I came here for help desperately. You have every information on your site but everything only works with the council. What's the point of having citizens advice when you can't be bothered to help or give decent advice to elderly people. Exactly what are you there For? Your site should be scrapped off If everything just turns back to the council. I came here for help because of a toxic landlord that I want to get away from. I don't even feel safe with that person being my landlord.

terrible. just terrible. im know more kneadable as i was before i rung up

Wouldnt even give 1 star, carnt get through telephone answer service asks questions then hangs up, absolute disgrace and no help at all, as i simply cannot get to speak to a human

It's bleeding repetitive and awful and gets on your fecking nerves. Turn the crap off. NO ONE LIKES IT! TURN IT OFF. Jesus Christ it's beyond annoying

absolutely useless, idiots. Never try and report to Trading Standards via this.

Citizens advice is very difficult to access on line, the chat service is of no use whatsoever, no advice given just told to try and get an appointment at one of the offices. Telephone calls go unanswered and are cut off abruptly.
I can't understand how or why they exist if this is the type of service they give.
I am very disappointed and disillusioned.

I so shocked to see so many people commenting on this service, and citizens Advice has not responded at all to any comment being made, It's appauling very very disrespectful to not reply to these customers who are having real means of struggle.
I won't see the point of citizens Advice know more, it's know longer a system for helping people for a one to one appointment but a bodies full of robots.

We are not hear to shout or cause any problem but if your working as a volunteer and looking into people's personal circumstances then there should by law be a knowledge of understanding and safeguarding procedure in place.
I have been trying my hardest for 4 years to contact someone and the volunteers who speak they have no idea what to do or what kind of wording to use when speaking. I was crying over the phone telling thrm begging them for help and in the end I was fobed off. So I fighted my own case and won.

So I don't really need these people and then provide this service call it a service, what for.

For the longest time know one answers the calls and then they ask you questions when just really you need to book an appointment and today 19 February 2026, 5.18pm I'm calling and I can't get an appointment I feel like killing myself because my breathing is going bad keep on asking for an appointment and not getting know where, if you are providing you a service then why are you not supporting us, what is the building for in the sale branch.

I need an appointment to speak to someone on a proffesional level. Please citizens Advice I need an appointment booked . I'm going to see if someone gets back to me because non of us have received know feedback. and these volunteers are working under govenement for no reason this doesn help us. Pease let me know if you will.see this message to book me in Thank you

Dealing with Citizens Advice Bath & North East Somerset (BANES) has been entirely unproductive. Despite over a month of repeated contact with the CEO, Senior Management, and the Chair, I have not received a single piece of advice.
It is deeply concerning that the leadership appears to use their 'volunteer' status as a shield to bypass professional responsibilities, leaving those in need effectively invisible. This lack of professional oversight suggests a serious failure of accountability within the BANES branch. A service that exists to provide a lifeline to the community should not be run with such a disregard for basic duty and responsiveness.

Whoever designed the chat needs to be fired and the people who thought it was a good design!! At the most stressful time when contacting people to help you put the end chat button just above where the auto corect keyboard on every damm phone apple and android, Such poor design proves you just dont care move the damm button you will save lives. Its just corprate incompetence on another level not even thinking or real life testing their programs or apps

Sutton branch vs Bromley branch

The CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) system is, for the most part, absolutely useless and feels like a mockery to people in desperate need of help. Their catchphrase at the end of every multi-hour conversation is: 'We are a charity and cannot help you.' Why torture people with hours of detailed questioning, forcing them to relive their trauma and dive back into their misery, only to provide no resolution? Is this a form of sadism? The organisation has become more like a mediocre psychological service rather than one equipped to provide actual assistance. The very purpose of such institutions is questionable.
Furthermore, they seem to enjoy using their power against the vulnerable people seeking help, rather than against those causing the harm. They fight off clients and engage in fierce conflict as if the clients were enemies, instead of directing that energy toward the offenders. Their incompetence, passivity, and inability to organise a proper workflow cause nothing but distress and frustration.
At the Sutton CAB (SM1 1EA), a supervisor named Beatrice actively clashes with clients who are already humiliated and in need. Her inability to solve problems and lack of legal knowledge is masked by arrogance and the abuse of her authority against clients who see right through her. She brazenly and condescendingly told a homeless client that to apply for help from Sutton Council, they must have lived in the borough for over two years. This completely ignores the Homelessness Code of Guidance and the standard local connection criteria of six months (Localism Act 2011). When asked a logical question about which law she was following, she snapped like a teenager, clearly feeling her own lack of expertise compared to the client. This is a textbook example of the ignorance and power-tripping I mentioned.
For a comparison of how a CAB should actually function, look at CAB Bromley. There, every client feels protected. After listening to a problem, the advisor immediately calls the party violating the client's rights to resolve the issue at the early stages. Usually, this is enough. If not, they bring in the necessary specialist. All of Bromley CAB's strength is directed at the offender; the client feels safe and supported, without any conflict. The Bromley model is an exemplary standard, while other branches remain toothless and useless structures.

There was no interaction from their site support at all beyond receiving obviously pasted stock answers. I swear they just wait for you to give them the reason for your contact, then paste a stock answer and close the chat whether you're finished or not. Not even a polite goodbye. What a waste of time for both of us it was.