In this week’s column we meet James Forster, one of our volunteer assessors.
James and his colleagues are the first port of call for advice and information for people visiting Citizens Advice Wokingham. Assessors effectively unpick your situation and identify next steps and any emergencies.
If you are interested in this or any other volunteer role please visit citizensadvicewokingham.org.uk – our next training sessions start in April or May.
How long have you been volunteering here?
About five years now.
What made you want to volunteer here?
I retired from a very busy job, and (after a year of playing golf and other leisure activities) I thought I should be doing something else! I thought that I could give something back to the community and benefit myself by keeping my brain active at the same time, so Citizens Advice was an obvious choice.
The other factor in my decision to join them was my personal experience in contacting Citizens Advice on two occasions, just before I joined.
One was to do with my mother’s will, and the direction within it that a solicitor should act as an executor, though I was also to act as a solicitor. The solicitor told me that I couldn’t, so I contacted Citizens Advice, who, of course, told me otherwise and showed me what to do.
Secondly, there was a consumer issue. I had a kitchen fitted and there was a major problem with the floor tiles.
Citizens Advice referred me to Trading Standards and the issue was resolved amicably. Citizens Advice helped me on a personal footing on two occasions and saved me thousands of pounds, I’d say. Another reason for joining.
It seems that you knew that Citizens Advice could be of assistance with these issues. Do you think that the public are aware of the range of services that Citizens Advice offer?
Probably not. From my experience, I don’t know what led me to contact Citizens Advice initially, and I certainly wasn’t initially aware of the range of services they offer. I didn’t realise that the consumer department was separate from the main Citizens Advice.
Do you feel that clients who ring in have been referred here, or did they know to contact in the first place?
On rare occasions, you get that impression. My feeling, though, is that it’s the first stop for a lot of them. Their awareness of what we offer is pretty poor, on the whole. We could work on branding, and I don’t think a lot of people realise that is a charitable service. A few people can be quite demanding on occasions, as if they don’t understand that this is a charity and we are volunteers.
How much satisfaction do you get from helping people with their issues?
Much more than I thought, really. You can go away quite satisfied after the day, although you occasionally worry about people that you have left. Have you done enough? Some people can’t be helped anyway with their circumstances. You do think about it sometimes, but overall, it does meet a need that you give back to people.
You can get help, information and advice from your local Citizens Advice or visit www.citizensadvicewokingham.org.uk or contact Citizens Advice Wokingham at Second Floor, Waterford House, Erfstadt Court, Wokingham RG40 2YF. Tel: 0300 330 1189. email: public@citizensadvicewokingham.org.uk
