How We Can Help
Free, confidential and open to everyone in the Charnwood community.
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.
Top Issues
Make an Energy Advice Appointment with us. We can help! Call 01509 649605
At Energy Advice Programme (EAP) appointments we can help you:
- Deal with energy issues
- Get information about smart meters and getting digital with your energy
- Find out about help from suppliers and the government for people struggling to pay their energy bills
- Make sure you get the right benefits and energy grants
- Understand your home’s energy efficiency
- Sign up to schemes like the Priority Services Register referrals.
- Deal with other barriers to living in a safe and warm home
Come along to one of our computer surgery slots in Barrow-upon-Soar pre-bookable on:
- 01509 416356
- library@barrowuponsoar.org.uk
- Or ask at the library desk.
Slots available: Mondays 3-5pm
If you’re aged under 25, live in Leicester or Leicestershire and need financial help to study or train, then Alderman Newton’s Educational Foundation may be for you!
Details and information can be found on: https://anef.org.uk/
Delivery problems
It’s the seller’s responsibility to make sure the item is delivered to you. Check the delivery address you gave the seller and contact them to ask where your order is.
If the seller claims they’ve delivered it or don’t know where it is, you can ask for a redelivery. You might be able to get a refund in some circumstances.
Defective goods
If something’s gone wrong with an item you’ve bought, you might be entitled to a refund, repair or replacement. You’ll have legal rights if the item you bought is:
broken or damaged (‘not of satisfactory quality’)
unusable (‘not fit for purpose’)
not what was advertised or doesn’t match the seller’s description”
What if I change my mind?
If you buy in store, you don’t have a legal right to return goods if you’ve simply changed your mind. Lots of shops have their own policies and do allow this, but time limits can vary.
If you buy online you usually get a right to cancel, known as a cooling off period, but there are exemptions including bespoke or personalised goods, and computer software where the seal is broken.
Pay safe
Pay by card so you have another form of protection if there’s a problem. The other way would be by making a chargeback or section 75 claim to your card provider.
Be cautious if you’re asked to pay in an unusual way such as in iTunes vouchers, crypto currency or via bank transfer as this could be the sign of a scam.
Making a return
Get proof of your return – a receipt from a shop or proof of postage. If you pay for return postage check the service you use covers the value of the goods.
Using a service that includes tracking means you can prove when a trader received your return.
Your store is a social supermarket based at John Storer House in Loughborough.
Follow this link to the John Storer website for up-to-date details
If you have an Economy 7 meter or a meter that automatically turns on your heating or hot water, you may have a meter that uses RTS technology.
The technology that supports RTS meters will be switched off from 30 June 2025. You should contact your supplier to arrange an upgrade to a replacement smart meter which can provide comparable tariffs to Economy 7.
Citizens Advice Charnwood provides a free, independent and confidential Money Advice Service to people with financial problems or struggling to make ends meet.
Telephone our Local Enquiry Line 01509 649605 for help and more information.
It is important not to panic about debt problems but also not to ignore them – they won’t go away. We all have financial commitments but some critical life events, such as the cost of living crisis including energy costs, relationship breakdown, change in family commitments, illness, redundancy, a change in benefits or business problems may affect our ability to manage our finances. Whatever it is, it must be dealt with quickly before the problem becomes a disaster.
Click here if you think something might be a scam and for more information including what to do if you have been scammed.
If you think you have been scammed get help by calling the Citizens Advice Helpline and speak to a Scams Action adviser by calling the consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm – except on public holidays. Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.
We’ll let you know what to do next and give you support on the issues you might be facing.
Do you or someone you know need support to make a Universal Credit claim? Citizens Advice offer free, confidential and independent phone and webchat advice. Here’s how to get in touch:
Phone: 0800 144 8 444
A project to help people who :-
- are recently unemployed due to Covid
- are returning to the workforce after an illness
- are wanting to retrain or gain new skills
- are looking for permanent employment (temporary/agency staff)
- have a mental health or physical issue or learning disability
- are BAME community members
- recently graduated
Phone: 0800 988 0308
Generalist Advice Service
Staff and Volunteers are trained to advise on virtually any issue, including:
Debt and Money
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Welfare Benefits
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Employment
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Consumer Rights
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Energy Advice
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Immigration and residency
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family & personal issues
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Specialist Advice Services
These services are made available thanks to funding from Charnwood Borough Council (Specialist Money Advice Grant & Homelessness Prevention), Leicestershire County Council (Shire Community Grant) and Citizens Advice National (Energy Advice Programme).
Debt & Money Advice
If you are worried about taking the first steps, there is free confidential advice available. Citizens Advice can help you to create a budget, decide on an appropriate strategy to deal with your debts, prepare court paperwork and assist in negotiating repayments. We can also help (during office hours) with emergencies such as possession proceedings, threatened disconnections or action by bailiffs.
Before calling into to see us write down details of your income and essential expenditure then make a complete list of your debts and collect all the letters and other documents that refer to them.
The National Debtline
The National Debtline and The Money Advice Trust produce a comprehensive guide to dealing with your debts, which is available from Citizens Advice. National Debtline also produces a series of Factsheets describing various aspects of dealing with Debt and many other financial matters.
Energy Advice Programme (EAP)
We can help you deal with energy issues, get information about smart meters find help from suppliers and the government for people struggling to pay their energy bills.
Consider getting a smart meter and in-home display – when offered by the energy supplier to see how much energy is being used and to find ways to save money by using less energy.
If you own your home, do a home energy check to find energy savings of up to £250 a year – find out more on gov.uk – household energy.
Fuelbank Vouchers
We can issue fuel bank vouchers from the Fuel Bank Foundation to people who are struggling to top up their prepayment (PAYG) gas and/or electricity meters.