Our services

“98% of clients said they were happy or very happy with the service they received.” Client Satisfaction Survey, 2018 We hold the Advice Quality Standard Certificate for Advice with Casework in Benefits and Debt, and the Telephone Advice standard.

Citizen Advice Hammersmith and Fulham provides free, independent and confidential advice to people who live, work or study in Hammersmith and Fulham, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, age, nationality, disability or religion.

Who we can see?

If you live, work, or study in Hammersmith & Fulham then you are eligible to use our services.
If you do not have links with the borough, we will give you information about your nearest advice service.

What we can advise on?

Benefits – Debts – Housing – Employment – Relationships/Family – Legal.
In some instances we may have to refer you to another agency for more specialist advice/information.

Who provides the advice and information?

At CAHF most of our information assistants/assessors/advisers are fully trained volunteers who work part-time, normally two days per week.
Our Volunteers are supported and supervised by experienced paid personnel.
Our advice teams are supported by volunteers in a variety of other roles.

How we provide advice and information:

Where possible we will show you how to deal with your problem yourself by explaining your rights and responsibilities and giving you guidance and information.

Assisted Information:

At any time when our offices are open we can help you find information about how to deal with your problem by assisting you to find the right leaflets, giving you details of other organisations that can help, and/or assisting you to use our internet kiosk to find suitable information from selected public websites including Citizens Advice at www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Telephone Assessment Interview:

During our advertised opening hours you will be able to speak to an assessor for a short assessment interview (normally no more than 10 to 15 minutes).
The assessor will assess your situation and determine the most appropriate next step for your problem, whether it is assisted information, suggesting another organisation that provides more specialist help or an appointment with us.
It will not be possible for you to get an appointment without an assessment interview first.

We will ask you for permission to keep certain information.

Information such as disability and ethnicity is called ‘special category’ data under GDPR, and we need your permission to record it. Sometimes this information may be essential to your case, and it is useful to know so that we can see that our services are reaching all sections of the community.
We do not need your consent to record basic information such as your name and address. You don’t have to tell us, but if you do not it will affect the effectiveness of the service we can give you if you return about the same issue.
You do need to give us your postcode when you call, as our services are restricted to people with a connection to Hammersmith & Fulham.
For further information about how we collect and use your data please see our privacy notice.

What you can do to help yourself:

Contact us as soon as you can when you think you have a problem – the earlier you contact us, the easier it is for us to help you.
Bring all your papers with you to an appointment – your appointment will be time limited so organise your paperwork in a clear, date order.
Do your preparation – if you need help with a form, fill in what you can in pencil. Make sure you have key facts and dates written down. Think about what questions you need to ask and write them down.
Arrive on time for your appointment – if you think you will be late, ring us and let us know. If you cannot attend your appointment, let us know so that we can offer that appointment to someone else.

Tell us what you think:

We are always looking for ways to improve our service. If you would like to give us any feedback please use our feedback form to tell us what you think.
If you are not satisfied with the service that you have received, then please ask to speak to the Advice Session Supervisor either on the telephone or in person. Alternatively you can make a formal complaint using the complaints leaflet available at reception.