THE Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has been criticised for bringing in a premium rate phone number.

Residents looking for the Blackburn’s branch phone number of the service’s website are directed to an 0844 number, rather than a 01254 number as previously advertised.

On its website, www.citizensadvice.org.uk, the landline number for branches in Rishton, Great Harwood, Accrington, Burnley, and Chorley, all list a local number.

Each branch makes its own decisions on phone numbers, a spokesman said.

But Blackburn residents are forced to call an 0844 number, which costs 5.1p per minute from a BT landline, and up to 40p per minute from a mobile phone, depending on the service provider.

One resident, Edward Brown, from Audley, said the service was becoming inaccessible for poor people who might need it the most. He said: “The phone number used to be to a landline and I could call it using the inclusive minutes on my mobile.

“But now it’s an 0844 number that costs me 35p a minute to ring it.”

Callers who use mobiles are given a cheaper 0300 number to dial, but only after listening to an automated system, and the cheaper number is not advertised on the CAB website.

Sudell councillor Roy Davies said he called the service to help a constituent, and questioned why callers were forced to call an expensive number.

He said: “When I called, it was automated. It gave me another number, so I called that and it said it was exclusively for mobiles and gave me another number, which then said it would cost 5p from landlines and considerably more from mobiles.

“Everybody seems to have mobiles and not landlines these days. It beggars belief they have not made the number free.”

Branch manager at Blackburn, Elizabeth Potts, said: “As a charity we don’t make any profit from phone line charges.

“We’re up front about the costs when people call, offer a cheaper, 5p-per-minute alternative number to mobile users and we’re happy to call people back.

“We also provide free advice through face-to-face appointments, over email and online.

“We’re committed to making our advice services as accessible as possible and in some cases the cost of calling our telephone advice lines is lower than the equivalent geographic number would be.”

Nobody at the Burnley CAB branch was available for comment yesterday.