Amanda McSorley

By Amanda McSorley amandamcsorley

The Lincoln Citizens Advice Bureau’s recently published annual review shows it helped 5,187 people in 2012-13, who raised a total of 15,529 problems and contacted us 25,619 times.

This means people came to us with an average of three problems and contacted us an average of five times, illustrating how the issues our clients face are becoming increasingly complex.

Lincoln Citizens Advice has two key aims in its mission statement: “to provide the advice people need for the problems they face” and “to improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives”.

The first most people are familiar with as giving advice is the mainstay of day-to-day business at Lincoln CAB’s Beaumont Fee central office and our outreach facilities.

The specialist Money Advice Team works hard to stabilise clients’ financial situations and last year negotiated on £7m of debt and achieved a record £1.3m of additional income.

I think all of the above shows how important it is to have a thriving Citizens Advice Bureau in the city, but what is not so tangible is what is known as our social policy work that is referred to in the second part of the mission statement, however that does not make it any less vital. In fact successful social policy work can help people who have never used CAB.

The types of problems Lincoln CAB is asked to help with.

We believe in tackling problems at their source and not just treating the symptoms, so the sorts of issues clients are dealing with are monitored and their cases used, anonymously, as proof to show how policies such as Welfare Reform or practices like payday lending are causing hardship in our community.

This latter issue has been the focus for a year-long CAB campaign and we have made some fantastic progress as the Financial Conduct Authority published its plans for regulating the Consumer Credit industry, including payday loans, at the beginning of this month – all the regulations we wanted to protect borrowers were included.

But we will not be resting on our laurels as the FCA is consulting on the proposals until December 3 and we are expecting the industry to fight them. Even if they are passed CAB will need to monitor whether lenders are complying with the law.

Campaigning work on providing access to basic bank accounts and justice through fighting legal aid cuts is continuing and we are also gathering evidence on many other issues on the public’s behalf such the impact of the bedroom tax; GPs providing medical evidence for Employment Support Allowance Appeals and the cost of childcare.

Our clients’ stories become the evidence used in Parliament to inform MPs’ debate and influence policymakers or persuade them to change their minds – CAB estimates 8.2 million people have been helped in this way.

Amanda McSorley joined the Research and Campaigns Team at Lincoln and District Citizens Advice Bureau in February 2013. She is a former journalist and newspaper editor, with 30 years’ experience of covering the issues that impact people’s lives.

By Amanda McSorley amandamcsorley

With Christmas looming and your purse strings stretched to the limit, you might think you are saving money with a bargain on some genuine-looking goods.

But if you have a closer look before you buy, a fake perfume that has a similar scent and name as an expensive perfume brand, could actually have liquid base of horse urine.

Research has also found that fake make-up contains high levels of mercury and the application brushes can be riddled with lice, while knock-off jewellery often contains high levels of carcinogenic metals such as nickel and lead.

The exploits of Delboy selling his dodgy wares out of a suitcase have given us the image of lovable rogues when it comes to counterfeit goods, but the reality is much more insidious.

Counterfeit items can harm your health and your pocket as well as financing crime and putting genuine traders out of business. Knock-offs are estimated to cost the British economy £1.3 billion a year.

New research from professional services giant PricewaterhouseCooper shows that 53% of British people have bought fake goods even though 90% think it is morally wrong, but police and Trading Standards fear the public do not know the real dangers of buying a pirated DVD or fake cigarettes.

In July this year, 20,000 illegal cigarettes were seized from four shops in Lincoln and one of the brands found, Jin Ling, is believed to be the cause of a house fire in which someone died.

The brand is illegal in Europe because the cigarettes are not made to the correct legislative standards and pose a more significant health risk than genuine cigarettes.

Illegally imported tobacco and alcohol costs the taxpayer £3 billion a year, but again the revenue implications are secondary as vodka found on sale in the county contained chemicals used to make paint stripper.

Many bogus goods are sold on the internet, and buyers give over their bank or credit card details to traders who are already breaking the law, so the risk of identity theft is high.

Markets are also popular outlets for sham products: Trading Standards warn the rip-off brand clothing falls to pieces easily and the electrical devices are fire hazards. The DVDs are unwatchable and their sale is known by police to fund the trafficking of people into Britain.

So if you are tempted to buy fake goods this Christmas, remember they could be a massive disappointment to the recipient and cause heartache all round.

If you think you have bought counterfeit products check out Advice Guide or Lincolnshire Trading Standards, where you will also find details of county markets that have signed up to the Real Deal charter to ensure safe and fair trading.

Amanda McSorley joined the Research and Campaigns Team at Lincoln and District Citizens Advice Bureau in February 2013. She is a former journalist and newspaper editor, with 30 years’ experience of covering the issues that impact people’s lives.