Citizens Advice | Our partnership with Citizens Advice | YBS
We've joined forces with Citizens Advice
We can all face problems that seem complicated or intimidating and we realise these past few years have been challenging for everyone. So what can you do, and where can you go to discuss your problems? Our innovative partnership with Citizens Advice might give you the answer.
We’ve partnered with Citizens Advice to host their expert advisers in 45 of our branches. They provide free, confidential advice to help people overcome their problems.
Who are Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice are a network of independent charities offering confidential advice for free. They help millions of people every year. Last year alone they helped over 2.4 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat, and had 40 million visits to their website. They are independent and totally impartial and give advice to people with many kinds of problems – from money to legal and consumer – to help them find a way forward.
What help Citizens Advice offer
To help you understand what Citizens Advice do, watch their video which features some of the people they have helped and some of the problems that they have overcome.
How Citizens Advice help people video
Why Yorkshire Building Society want to help
In May 2021 we funded Citizens Advice advisers, initially in six of our branches in the Yorkshire area. This programme formed part of £1million in additional investment that the Society has used to help target those in its communities who need support most.
If you ever feel lost and need some advice and support with a problem you’re experiencing, you can talk to Citizens Advice in one of our branches shown below. You don’t need to be an existing customer either. We are offering appointments to everyone in the community, not just Yorkshire Building Society customers.
How to book a Citizens Advice appointment
If you'd like to book a free Citizens Advice appointment, pop-in to one of the branches below or give them a call.
What to expect before your appointment
Once your appointment is booked, YBS (Yorkshire Building Society) will contact you a few days before you are due to visit us, to check you can still make it. If you can't make your appointment please let us know by contacting your local branch, so that we can offer your appointment to someone else who needs it.
What to expect at your appointment
When you arrive for your appointment please speak to one of our colleagues and let them know you're there to attend your Citizens Advice appointment. They'll show you where to go and introduce you to your adviser. The appointment will take place in a private meeting room in our branch. Whatever you discuss in the meeting is fully confidential and no personal information will be shared with YBS or anyone else. Your appointment is free and will last up to an hour depending on what you want to discuss. Please be assured that Yorkshire Building Society will not contact you following your appointment and the matters you discuss with Citizens Advice will not be shared with anyone.
If you can't book an appointment
We already know that there is a very high demand for help from Citizens Advice. If you try to book an appointment at one of our branches and there are no suitable slots available, but you need urgent help, please look at the other ways to access help via the Citizens Advice website at www.citizensadvice.org.uk.
Adam Waterfall, Regional Area Manager at Yorkshire Building Society, said:
As one of the branches taking part in the partnership with Citizens Advice, it’s great to be able to offer this support to both customers and members of the public within our communities. I’ve witnessed first-hand how this partnership can provide an absolute lifeline for people who find themselves in difficult circumstances, and to be able to provide access to vital support when they really need it.
How to get in touch
If you have any comments or feedback on our partnership with Citizens Advice please get in touch. You can email community@ybs.co.uk, we’d love to hear from you.
Citizens Advice is an operating name of The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux. Registered charity number 279057.