Publications

In every bureau in Scotland, statistics are collated over the course of the year about the nature of each enquiry brought by clients to the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) service. This information enables us to build up a profile of the issues of concern to our clients, and to identify trends in advice seeking. The information in this briefing is based on statistics collected between April 2004 and March 2005. The figures do not represent a head count as any one client may raise a number of issues during an advice session.

CAB evidence on the impact of fee-charging cash machines.

Briefing sheet on prescription charges, which can act as a barrier to treatment and contribute to inequalities in health.

Briefing paper on the experiences of CAB clients who are migrant workers in Scotland.

A bank arrestment is a particularly harsh form of diligence, or formal debt recovery. Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has been campaigning for change in this area for a number of years.

With 81,984 enquiries about consumer-related issues brought to Scotland’s bureaux in 2003/2004, consumer scams are an issue clients and advisers are all too familiar with. Clients have been targeted with a number of sophisticated techniques, via post, email and telephone. The kinds of scams brought to bureaux range from the promise of prizes for the cost of a small claim fee, to the targeting of small business with fake information which demands fees for registration under the Data Protection Act.