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Citizens Advice

The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free, independent and confidential advice, and by influencing policymakers.

Every Citizens Advice Bureau is a registered charity reliant on trained volunteers and funds to provide these vital services for local communities.

Citizens Advice service strategy 2008 - 2011 cover


Citizens Advice response to 'Reforming financial markets', the financial regulation White Paper

Welcoming today’s White Paper, Citizens Advice Chief Executive David Harker said:

“Investing in financial education is one way in which the impact of the recession on communities can be lessened. Sessions with tips on how to budget, borrow and save creates more savvy consumers and helps people to help themselves. The commitment to greater resources in this area by levying consumer credit firms, and the anticipated roll-out of a national money guidance service are both positive steps. Citizens Advice is interested in the proposals to create a new independent consumer education and information authority, and looks forward to working closely with the FSA and HM Treasury in creating it.

“CAB evidence shows again and again how practices that are unfair and detrimental to consumers can become common, even ingrained, where regulatory standards are non-existent, weak or poorly enforced by regulators. It’s therefore encouraging that the white paper outlines a range of ideas to support and protect consumers more effectively.  

“We welcome a review of mortgage lending and the regulation of second-charge mortgages, where we would like to see a single regulatory regime that builds on the best elements of both the Consumer Credit Act and Financial Services and Markets Act.

“We agree that on bank charges it would be in all consumers’ best interests for both sides to come to an agreement instead of letting the case drag on through the courts. We see many cases where bank charges have made people’s financial difficulties much worse, so we need to see banks sticking to their own code of practice by ensuring they don’t impose unreasonable charges on people already in debt, people on benefits and customers with basic bank accounts.

“We are also pleased to see the government seriously considering systems for collective redress and recognising the need for simpler and more accessible financial products. With Payment Protection Insurance, for example, it’s vitally important that in the current recession people have access to the reasonably priced, effective, good value policies they really need. We want to see Government and regulators setting standards that deliver these improvements and put an end to the high prices and poor quality that have pushed many people into debt and given PPI a bad name.”


Notes to editors

  1. Financial capability: the Citizens Advice financial capability service has expanded substantially in the last five years to reach at least 100,000 consumers a year. There are now over 200 bureaux involved in thispreventative work, almost three times the number two years ago. Citizens Advice also leads the national network of 14 regional financial capability forums. These are enablingover 600 bureaux and local partner organisations to work togetherto identifyand address priority needs in their areas.

    The Citizens Advice Financial Skills for Life financial capability programme is supported by Prudential as key partner. It also receives substantial support for associated programmes from a range of funders including Barclaycard, Nationwide Building Society, Bank of America Foundation and Abbey.
  2. Money Guidance: Citizens Advice is a delivery partner of the MoneyMadeClear service in the North East. The MoneyMadeClear service is a year-long pilot or ‘pathfinder’. It is a £12m project which has been jointly funded by the FSA and HM Treasury. The pathfinder will test the blueprint for a national ‘money guidance service’ (branded Moneymadeclear for the pathfinder. This blueprint was set out by the independent Thoresen Review commissioned by HM Treasury in January 2007. The Review’s final report was published on 3 March 2008.
  3. Payment Protection Insurance: In September 2005 Citizens Advice made a ‘super complaint’ to the Office of Fair Trading, calling on them to launch an investigation into the payment protection insurance (PPI) business, which at that time had an estimated 20 million policies in force and produced annual revenue in excess of £5 billion. Protection racket – CAB evidence on the cost and effectiveness of payment protection insurance, the report on which the super complaint was based, is available on the Citizens Advice website:
  4. The Citizens Advice service is a network of independent charities that helps people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more information in England and Wales www.citizensadvice.org.uk
  5. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
  6. Most Citizens Advice service staff are trained volunteers, working at over 3,300 locations across England and Wales.
  7. Advice and information (New window) www.adviceguide.org.uk
  8. Volunteer hotline 08451 264264 (local rate)
  9. Citizens Advice Guide to your rights, second edition: January 2008 - over 600 pages of practical, independent CAB advice. An invaluable resource for any bookshelf - available from all good bookshops; price £11.99; ISBN: 9780141034089
  10. Follow Citizens Advice on Twitter: (New window) twitter.com/CitizensAdvice
  11. Subscribe to Citizens Advice press releases via RSS news feed: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/pressoffice