REAL time webchat advice and rebranding is helping what was the Citizens Advice Bureau in East Hampshire reach a wider audience.
The ‘bureau’ has now been dropped from its name, with Citizens Advice East Hampshire the new title.
Its website has been upgraded too to offer online help via webchat and e-mail to those living or working in the district.
It is part of the commitment of Citizens Advice nationally to provide improved phone and digital channels.
On the new website – www.citizensadviceeasthampshire.org.uk – there are answers too to frequently asked questions and links to extensive advice. Webchat can be used in office hours and e-mails sent directly to fully trained advisers.
Citizens Advice East Hampshire is one of a pioneering group of around 30 offices around the country developing new ways of accessing advice.
The national webchat and e-mail project has exceeded all expectations in the number of clients helped.
“The combination of real time advice and anonymity could be one of the reasons it has been so successful to date,” said chief executive of Citizens Advice East Hampshire Jon Stuart.
District business manager Chris Greenslade added: “Webchat and e-mail will bring our advice service to a wider range of people, some of whom have difficulty visiting us during opening hours.”
With cuts to legal aid and public spending, free easy-to-access advice would be ever more vital to ensure that people from all backgrounds got the help they needed to deal with the problems they faced.