Citizens Advice is the first point of contact for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area residents seeking consumer advice. They work in partnership with our Trading Standards service.

If you wish to seek advice, or make a complaint about:

• goods or services that you have bought
• a scam
• a company that you believe is trading unfairly.

Please contact Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 (free from landlines and mobiles). Lines open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, closed on public holidays.

Working in partnership with Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice work in partnership with us and liaise closely with our Trading Standards service.

They may refer some residents to us for further advice, where:

• a consumer may be vulnerable
• the law is complex

If you contact Citizens Advice consumer service, and your case is referred, we may contact you by telephone, email, or letter, depending on the situation.

All other consumer advice is offered on a self-help basis.

Citizens Advice CS can:

• advise you which law covers your contract and how it affects your legal rights
• supply you with sample letters to help you write a formal dispute
• inform our enforcement team if necessary

If there are criminal breaches of law that we can investigate, you will still need to pursue your own civil claim. Criminal and civil laws in the UK work independently. This means that we cannot take a trader to court on your behalf. We can only take traders to court for breaches of law which affect the community.