Welcome to Richmond Citizens Advice Bureau

The Citizens Advice Bureaux service is independent and provides free, confidential and impartial advice to everybody regardless of race, sex, disability or sexuality.

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Latest News -

50% more advice in Sheen

The Citizens Advice service in Sheen is opening its doors for an extra morning each week to help get advice to more people who need it.
From Monday 16th April, Sheen will open its doors for drop-in advice sessions on Thursday mornings as well as Mondays and Wednesdays. Appointments will be made for those who need longer sessions in the afternoons of those days by arrangement.

Local Housing Allowance – information and help

If you pay rent to a private Landlord and are entitled to housing benefit; the amount to which you are entitled is determined by the Local Housing Allowance.
Richmond Council updates its Local Housing Allowance rates table 'annually' from April 2012. This is a great tool to use if you are searching for a property to check out the affordability of housing in your area.
Local Housing Allowance (or LHA) is likely not to cover the full rent of a property and tenants will be required to make up the shortfall.
If you would like more information on the LHA rates, how to make up the shortfall, information on how to deal with overpayments, changes of address etc, please visit Richmond Council’s LHA page on its website: www.richmond.gov.uk/home/housing.
If you have any issues concerning your rent, housing benefit or any other related issues, please feel free to access our drop-in or telephone advice services.


Richmond CAB’s Money Team is award winning

Richmond CAB’s financial capability team has been nationally recognised for the training it rolls out in the borough.
At a celebration event in London, hosted by HRH the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, the Richmond team won the “Making a Difference” award for its training to front line workers across the Borough.
Speaking at the event, Princess Anne, who has been Patron of the Citizens Advice service since 1990, thanked the volunteers
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New easy-to-use online Benefit Checker for everyone

One of the biggest criticisms leveled at the Benefits system over the year is that it is very confusing. Many people come to Citizens Advice for help in finding out what they are entitled to simply because the system can be tricky to unravel. However, for those who want to try and find some of this information out for themselves, help is now at hand.
www.turn2us.org.uk is a charitable service designed to help people access the money available to them, through benefits and grants and other help. It is run by Elizabeth Finn Care.
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Mortlake Community Association – ADVICE SESSIONS

Following a successful pilot period, Richmond CAB is pleased to announce that the advice sessions at The Old Bakery will take place weekly from September.
The service is aimed at people who live in the Mortlake area only. Primarily it covers the SW14 postcode.
Clients who do not live in or near Mortlake should contact their nearest bureau or phone the helpline on 0844 826 9700.
If you live in the area and would like to see an adviser, you will need to contact the Mortlake Community Association on 020 8487 5500 to book an appointment.
Please note, you cannot get advice over the phone on this number.

Where to go for Post-Budget benefits checks

The March Budget will cause a huge change in the personal allowances and benefit entitlements of millions of people.
There have been significant changes to the personal allowance threshold, working tax credits, child tax credits, child benefit and many other benefits.
If you wish to check your benefit entitlement in view of these changes, then the best place to go is www.turn2us.org.uk
Turn 2 Us is a charitable service designed to help people access the money available to them, through benefits and grants and other help. It is run by Elizabeth Finn Care. Simply by inputting your personal details and those of your partner, where applicable, you will be able to check what benefits you are entitled to. This could really help plan family finances in the wake of the Budgetary changes.
Simply visit the site; click on “Benefits Search” and then “start Benefits Check”. It’s easy to use, doesn’t take too long and has an understandable format.

Londoners worry about how to pay their next fuel bill

As nearly half of Londoners worry about how to pay their next fuel bill, Richmond CAB explains how to cut your bill down to size.
A shocking 45% of people in London are worried they can’t afford their next fuel bill. Half say energy bills will put a strain on their finances this year.
To make matters worse, nearly one in five British households – four million households in total – are defined as being in fuel poverty. That is, they spend at least 10% of their household income on fuel and more and more households are falling into fuel poverty each year.
That’s simply not good enough and here, at Richmond CAB,...... more

The ticking timebomb of payday loans

We’ve all seen the adverts… cash can be in your bank account that same day. Just one phone call and you can have up to £500 today.
The worry is the story behind those promises. Citizens Advice bureaux up and down the country have seen a four-fold increase in the number of people with payday loans coming to us for debt advice in the first quarter of this year compared to two years ago. Those numbers look set to increase further with many more people expected to borrowing to fund Christmas this year.
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Gold Star for Citizens Advice Bureaux

Richmond CAB which gives advice and information across the Borough has just heard that it has scored an excellent 82% in its recent Quality of Advice audit. This puts the Service amongst the top ten percent of CABs in the country.

RCABs Services

  • Benefits
  • Consumer matters
  • Debt
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Housing
  • Immigration & Nationality
  • The Law
  • Relationships
  • Tax