What to expect when you visit us

We have a waiting room that we share with Age Concern. You will see a sign asking you to press the Citizens Advice buzzer on the facing wall. This tells us that you are waiting to see an adviser. This is an intercom and someone will speak to you.

Clients are seen on a first come, first served basis.

If it is your first visit we will ask you to fill out a ‘green form’ with basic information about yourself. We will also ask you to sign at the bottom to agree to us keeping a record of your visit. You are not obliged to complete all the questions and if you wish to remain anonymous we can still advise you.

If you have been to our office before, please tell us so the adviser can access your previous case records.

When an adviser is free, they will come to meet you in the waiting room.

You will be offered a short interview (no more than 10 minutes) so that your problem can be assessed. The adviser will then decide the next course of action for you. This could be to:

• Give you information to help you resolve a problem, or
• Make an appointment for you to come back for a detailed discussion, and list out any additional documents to bring, or
• Direct you to another organisation (e.g. local authority; government department; specialist body)

If the adviser needs to contact a third party on your behalf, we will ask you to sign an authorisation form giving your consent.