Its success continues to grow with well over a quarter of a million of visits to the site each month. The user-friendly website, which holds an award for accessibility from the National Library for the Blind (NLB) and the Community Legal Service (CLS) Quality Mark for websites, has been given a make-over with a new look homepage. Users will now find it easier to find our downloadable fact sheets and FAQs, and to read our What’s New section, which is always up to date with recent legislative changes, new rules, new rights and other general information which may affect people in their daily lives.
Now in its sixth year, Adviceguide has enabled millions of people to take steps to sort out their own problems in the comfort of their own homes. The website is useful for anyone who needs instant information on their rights and responsibilities. But it is particularly useful for people who are unable to get to a Citizens Advice Bureau - whether they are single mums or carers, can’t get out of work to make a visit, are housebound, have mobility problems or simply need help after hours. It also directs people to other sources of help and links to a directory of Citizens Advice Bureaux for advice on more complex problems.
The website is based on a condensed version of the information database used by CAB advisers to deal with over 5.6 million problems of all kinds every year. It is updated regularly by trained professionals and covers everything from employment, housing, family matters and the legal system to tax, benefits, consumer affairs and civil rights. The information covers the whole of the UK putting practical, reliable, up-to-the-minute advice at people’s fingertips around the clock and some information is also available in Welsh, Bengali, Gujarati, Urdu, Punjabi and Chinese.
The site has recently seen a surge of visits with people accessing the ‘overpayment of tax credits’ factsheet, which holds important information about how people can challenge a decision by Inland Revenue to claw back tax credit overpayments. We also see peaks in usage of different areas of the site depending on current crises. If for example, there are high levels of redundancies at a major company we see peaks in usage of the employment section with people seeking advice. Adviceguide consistently responds to peoples needs by providing people with up-to-the minute information on important issues as they happen.
Other areas that are popular with visitors are the pages dealing with ending a relationship and how to seek help with debt - also employment rights and benefits.
The following messages from users tell their own story about just how useful Adviceguide has proved in helping people resolve their problems:
“I’m very impressed with the CAB site. It had all of the info I needed about debt advice, including the sample letters, which I really wanted and lots of other information. It has saved me booking time off work to go and see someone - very useful. Thanks very much.”
“THANKYOU, THANKYOU, and THANKYOU. An amazing amount of information regarding benefits. No need for me to visit a branch. Thank you.”
“Thank you very much for providing such a useful site. I used it to gain advice about writing a will and it has helped me to keep my solicitor costs to a minimum, as I knew what I needed to prepare.”
“I recently had a consumer problem and found the information on your guide extremely useful. It gave me the confidence to continue a long fight with PC world for a replacement for a faulty computer, which they had stubbornly refused to replace. They wanted to continue to repair the computer endlessly despite the endless breakdowns, which occurred approximately every two months. The matter is now settled as they have sent me vouchers for a replacement computer and for the extended warranty. Unfortunately this fight took nearly two years and it is quite a relief that it is over. Thanks for your wonderful website and all who keep it updated.”
Citizens Advice Chief Executive David Harker said: ”Over a quarter of a million visits a month is a real success story, and the feedback we get shows just what an invaluable resource Adviceguide is, offering people a quick and easily accessible way to get up-to-date advice and information on a huge variety of subjects. The improvements to the homepage should enable users to locate all the latest information and legislative changes more quickly and easily.
“We developed Adviceguide to give people who may not have easy access to a CAB the opportunity to access our unrivalled information resource and to try to resolve their problems without having to visit a bureau.
“We are proud of what’s been achieved so far and look forward to being able to help many more people solve their problems in future through the unique service on offer at our virtual CAB.”
Quelle: Publictechnology, 25.05.2005
