Tell us about your role at CAM? What are you responsible for? When did you first join the team and what made you want to work for Citizens Advice? 

Hi! My name is Jess and I’m the Consumer Operations Manager at CAM. My role is to oversee the entire Consumer team which consists of 34 advisers and 4 management staff. My job is to make sure the service is running efficiently and effectively, to oversee our staff training and making sure that everyone feels happy and supported. 

I’ve been with Citizens Advice since March 2020. My background was originally in mortgages but I’d heard a lot about Citizens Advice before coming here. At Citizens Advice it’s all about helping people and leaving them in a better position than they came to us in. I wanted to ensure that this was happening for our clients but for our staff as well. 

What sort of issues do the consumer team help people with? Are there any issues we’ve been seeing a lot of recently? 

The team helps with absolutely everything and anything consumer-related. It could be holidays people have booked, purchases from a shop or online, people who have fallen victim to scams. As you can expect, holiday issues are something we’ve seen a lot recently - a lot of people have had cancellations due to COVID-19 with companies taking their money, not receiving refunds etc.

Why is it so important that our team is there to help people find a way forward with their issues? 

The thing that surprised me most when I joined the consumer team was the difference that our advice makes to a lot of our clients. You might think ‘it’s just someone who’s bought a washing machine online, why are they getting so mad and frustrated?’ but in the situations we come across, we deal with a lot of really vulnerable individuals. 

A lot of the people who come to us have been put in positions where they don’t know where to turn and might not get taken seriously elsewhere, but the issues we help with can make a real difference to people’s lives and can have a real effect on their mental health so it’s important we’re there to help them. 

What would you say to someone who’s experiencing a consumer-related issue but is unsure about getting help with their problem? 

I’d say to anyone to trust their gut. If you’re sat there struggling at home and you don’t know where to turn - get in touch. A lot of people seek advice from family and friends, but if you’re still unsure what to do don’t hesitate to give us a call. Even if it’s not something that we can help with directly , we can give the best advice on where you should go and who you can speak to. 

Even if your issue is something small and you might not want to call up - our website has lots of really helpful advice on there and we’ve also got our webchat which allows you to send a quick message just to get that reassurance and peace of mind. 

What do you enjoy most about working for CAM? What does it feel like for you when you help someone solve their issue? 

As a team leader it’s always really nice to hear the lovely, complimentary stories we get from clients who we’ve helped. We send a weekly email around to the team with shout-outs for the positive compliments we receive and it’s always nice to see an adviser’s face light up when they’ve received positive feedback. It makes my day, because you can tell it means they’ve gone that extra mile to make a real difference to someone’s life. 

If you need help with a Consumer issue, you can contact the team on 0808 223 1133. If you’re interested in joining Jess’s team, we currently have vacancies; click here to apply