About our Bureau

About our Bureau

Haddington CAB is here to offer free, impartial and confidential advice to East Lothian. We deliver support and guidance on a range of topics, giving people the information they need to deal with any situation and improve their lives. Please make an appointment to speak to one of our highly trained advisors.

Every year Haddington CAB works with over 2000 clients and helps resolve a range of issues. As a registered charity, we rely on donations and the work of our volunteers to continue to provide these important services.

We are open Monday to Friday.  Phone lines are open from 9am to 5pm, and in bureau appointments are available between 10am and 4pm Monday to Thursday.

Please note that the building is not wheelchair friendly.  Should you require a face to face appointment, and have any concerns about accessing our building please let us know this when you make an appointment.  We will be happy to arrange another way to meet. 

 

Aims and equality statement

We provide free, independent, impartial and confidential advice and information to ensure that people understand their rights and responsibilities and can express their needs effectively. We campaign and influence to tackle the root cause of the problems people face and work to strengthen their rights.

We believe that everyone should be treated with respect and dignity and that no client, job applicant, worker or volunteer should receive less favourable treatment than another on grounds of age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, or sexual orientation.

We promote human rights and social justice and will not tolerate or practice unfair discrimination of any kind. We are committed to our obligations under the Equality Act 2010, and we extend these obligations to other aspects of equality such as socio-economic status, education, personality, social exclusion and communication style.

We value diversity and promote dignity and inclusion to strengthen our network and our service.

Haddington Citizens Advice Bureau

We’ve been open since 1978 and we’re part of the Scottish Citizens Advice network, which has been offering advice and support since 1939. Together we advise over 300,000 people on the best way to sort out their problems every year - that’s 1 in every 14 adults.

We can offer advice, guidance and information in a number of different areas, including benefits, consumer issues, immigration, workplace disputes and much more. See our services section for more information.

We also offer the following specialist services:

We have 45 staff and volunteers working as advisers and helping behind the scenes. Everyone you meet at Haddington Citizens Advice Bureau has had a minimum of six months of training, so they are well-equipped to give you advice on a wide range of problems and issues.

Meet our advisers, or find out more about volunteering with us.

Expert advice - every time

As a member of the Scottish Citizens Advice network, the service we deliver must always meet national standards. This means you’ll receive a professional service, every single time you talk to us.

Our advisers undergo extensive training to make sure you receive the best quality of advice, whatever your issue may be. The Citizens Advice Scotland competency-based Adviser Training Programme is renowned in the voluntary sector and beyond.

Our advisers also have access to the AdviserNet Information System. This valuable resource provides a wealth of information on everything from employment and benefits to housing and debt. Access to this independent, trusted and quality assured information means our advisers can always offer you the most up-to-date advice.

In addition to our training and resources, the quality and training team at Citizens Advice Scotland regularly review the advice we offer, via a bureau audit. This makes sure we continue to meet the high standards required of a Citizens Advice Bureau.

Our charity status

Every bureau within the Scottish Citizens Advice network is a registered charity, and depends on support from the public to continue to offer advice to improve people’s lives.

As a charity, we are open and transparent about our accounts and governance structure. The minutes of our Annual General Meeting (AGM) are also published online each year.

Get advice

There are a number of ways you can get advice from Haddington Citizens Advice Bureau. You can call, Email Us or you can make an appointment to come in for a face-to-face appointment.

We aim to respond to messages within 2 working days.

We offer home visits.

Making a complaint

If you want to make a complaint about Haddington Citizens Advice Bureau contact us directly. You can also read more about our complaints procedure.