zenla wrote on Aug 2
nd, 2007 at 10:19am:
i wanted to call me local Citizens Advice Bureau this morning and find they are using 0870 numbers for all their offices
It is the intention of the national umbrella charity, Citizens Advice, to set up a single national telephone number. Citizens Advice doesn't appear to be publicising a single number at this time, nor is there any indication of the code that might be used, and there is no indication that this is intended to replace numbers for individual Citizens Advice Bureaux - that wouldn't make any sense, citizens often need to speak to the advisor at their local bureau that is dealing with their issue.
A cursory check shows that for individual Citizens Advice Bureaux the situation hasn't changed over the past few months and is still a mixed picture. Some use 0870 numbers, some use 0844 numbers, and others use geo numbers. I note that in some cases neighbouring bureaux share an 0870 number, which indicates that it was adopted for the routing facilites. If you think that they opted for the 0870 - and might change to an 0871 - for revenue generation, one would ask: for whose benefit, given that the bureaux are operated by volunteers? The inconsistent approach indicates that individual bureaux do not have the benefit of centralised advice on the issue and may be unaware of the cost implications. Citizens Advice says:
Quote:Help us change
We can’t do this on our own, we need resources and we need your help. Perhaps you are able to:
...
...
* Provide technical advice and/or support?
* Share your experience and/or expertise?
...
so there may be the opportunity for those with the knowledge to support the bureaux with their expertise.