Get free, confidential advice with our Citizens Advice Service

The BATUHN Citiens Advice Service is closing on 31 March 2024. Scroll down for more information. 
 

Until then, you can still book an appointment in Tring by clicking the link below. 

BATUHGuests can speak with trained professionals and receive confidential, free advice on a range of subjects, including but not limited to: 

  • Benefits 
  • Employment and work (e.g. employment law or CV and cover letter help)
  • Schools (e.g. applications, Special Educational Needs or free school dinners) 
  • Housing
  • Immigration 

This service is for those living in the following areas: 

  • HP4
  • HP23 
  • Aston Clinton
  • Ivinghoe
  • Pitstone
  • Hawridge

Guests from these areas can book an appointment to speak with an advisor for free below. They will be asked to fill in a form on the official CA Dacorum website. When doing so, they should include the following in the description box to ensure their query is handled correctly, and that they are seen at the correct location. 

  1. Include ‘BATUHN’ (this stands for ‘Berkhamsted and Tring Ukraine Hosting Network’ to show you’re part of this service) 
  2. Include their preferred location to meet an advisor: ‘Tring’ or ‘Berkhamsted’ 
  3. If your guest requires disabled access*, or a translator 

Berkhamsted: 
Tuesdays, 9:30-12:30
Berhamsted Civic Centre, High Street, Berkhamsted, HP4 3HB

Tring: 
Thursdays, 11:00-13:00
High Street Baptist Church, 89 High Street, Tring, HP23 4AB

Where to go for free, confidential advice

After 31 March, 2024 you can still book an appointment with Citizens Advice Dacorum at their offices in Hemel Hempstead or Berkhamsted. You can book an appointment with the Hertfordshire service here or using the contact information below.

Online: citizensadvice.org.uk (includes webchat service)

Email: using the contact form on the website for the Dacorum service dacorumcab.org.uk/advice-by-email

Call free: 

AdviceLine: 0800 144 88 48

Monday - Wednesday, 10:00-21:00

Thursday - Friday, 10:00-20:30

Saturday, 09:30-16:30

Calls can also be made from the free phones available in the foyer of the Forum Hemel Hempstead or the Civic Centre in Berkhamsted.

 

For Help to Claim Universal Credit: 0800 144 8 444

Monday - Friday, 08:00 - 18:00 

 

Consumer Helpline: 0800 223 1133

Monday - Friday, 09:00-17:00

Citizens Advice Dacorum is a local charity with trained volunteer advisors who can give advice on a broad range of issues including housing, debt, consumer matters, welfare benefits, employment, health, relationships and immigration. As a charty, they have access to telephone interpreters and also use tools such as Google translate to help you. You are also allowed to bring a trusted friend to help translate services for you if you prefer. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Why are we closing? 

When we first opened the BATUHN Citizens Advice Service in November 2022 it was the only advice service of its kind available to those on the Homes4Ukraine scheme in our area. However, since then, Hertfordshire County Council, Citizens Advice Dacorum and other charities have opened similar advice services that our guests and hosts can use. 

In parallel with this, over the past six months we have seen less people using the BATUHN Citizens Advice Service in Tring. Therefore, the charity has decided to close our service knowing that our members can access free, impartial and confidential advice from these other services (see below) allowing us to devote our limited funds and volunteer time to other services that aren’t available elsewhere. 

We are working with The Citizens Advice Dacorum (CA Dacorum) to provide a specialist Ukraine advice service in Tring and Berkhamsted for guests. 

2. What other services are available to provide help and advice? 

  1. Citizens Advice Dacorum - Citizens Advice Dacorum is the organisation that provided the BATUHN Citizens Advice Service. Find out more about th
  2. Hertfordshire Citizens Advice Ukraine Support Service - this is a telephone service specifically to help hosts and guests who are looking to move on from their hosting arrangement. Translation and interpreter services are available. 
  3. Bernardo’s Ukrainian helpline - a free advice telephone service provided by the charity Bernardo’s. English, Russian and Ukrainian speakers are available on the phone.

3. What’s the difference between the BATUHN Citizen’s Advice Service and Citizen’s Advice Dacorum? 

The local BATUHN Citizens Advice Service was funded by the BATUHN charity, meaning we could open the service in Tring so that it was more convenient for our guests and hosts. It also meant we had one member of staff who managed our service, met with anyone who booked an appointment through our service and got to know our hosts and guests more closely. But that member of staff was actually employed by Citizens Advice Dacorum and continues to work for Citizens Advice Dacorum at their other offices. 

The Citizens Advice Dacorum is a bigger organisation that offers support on a number of issues including benefits, housing, immigration, schools, legal advice and more. All members of staff at Citizens Advice Dacorum have access to telephone translators, just like at the BATUHN service and have access to the same information and help as our BATUHN service had. 

You can see the full list of services available from Citizens Advice Dacorum here.

4. I don’t want to speak to someone over the phone. Can I meet someone face to face at Citizen’s Advice Dacorum? 

Yes, you can have a face to face appointment at the Citizens Advice Dacorum office in Hemel Hempsted or Berkhamsted Civic Centre. However, you must fill in the form on their website with the details of your request first so they know who to book the appointment with. Make sure you say in your email that you want to meet face to face and at which location. 

Use this online form to get started: https://dacorumcab.org.uk/advice-by-email/

5. What if my English isn’t good? 

Citizens Advice Dacorum has access to the sane translator and interpreter services as the BATUHN Citizen’s Advice Service has. However, you can also bring a trusted friend to help you during the appointment if you prefer. 

Remember, you can still book an appointment in Tring using the BATUHN Advice Service during March 2024. However, from 18 March, 2024 we recommend booking an appointment via Citizens Advice Dacorum as appointments are allocated on a first come, first serve basis. 

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