About Us

• to provide the advice people need for the problems they face
• to improve the policies and practices that affect people's lives

We are a local, independent charity and a member of the National Association of Citizens Advice https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us and rely on grants and donations. We provide free, independent, good quality advice to anyone living and working in Charnwood to give them the confidence they need to find their way forward.

The advice we offer covers a wide-range of issues although over 60% of our work actually relates to debt and welfare benefits.

We play an essential part in helping anyone living or working in the borough of Charnwood by providing information, directing them to the best source of help for their issues and giving advice through trained generalist advisers and specialists. The service we provide is free, independent, confidential and impartial.

Citizens Advice Charnwood is a registered charity and company and was established in the 1940s – the first Citizens Advice bureau in Leicestershire. Our organisation that operates across our offices in Loughborough, Shepshed and Syston, consists mainly of Volunteers although there a number of paid staff. (Follow this link for details about the various roles undertaken by our volunteers)

The Citizens Advice service is made up of the national charity, and our network of over 270 independent local Citizens Advice charities in England and Wales. The membership organisation, Citizens Advice is based in London and sets the quality standards for all Citizens Advice offices. It also provides up-to-date information sources for our use and raises, at a national level, the issues affecting people's lives with those who are causing them, thereby helping all Citizens Advice offices to exercise responsible influence on policy makers. See Research&Campaigns for more information.

Our advisers and specialist advisers work with people to sort out debt worries and claim all the benefits they are entitled to. We can help with housing and employment problems or deal with queries about consumer or tax issues. We can advise on legal matters, answer questions about immigration and we have experience of dealing with family and personal concerns too. We can also negotiate with companies or service providers such as creditors. We also provide a Money Advice Service for people with financial problems or struggling to make ends meet.

All our work is audited for quality purposes so clients can rest assured the service they receive is of a very high standard.

Citizens Advice Charnwood has a close working relationship with a number of Partnerships, with the aim of working together to help our clients.

Learn more about our impact from our history to our modern mission statement, along with the Partners who help us.