Samaritans Reviews 

I rang earlier on today because I was on the verge of having a panic attack with horrible thoughts and was completely alone, I thought this number would help me but wow was I wrong. The woman I got was completely unbothered, I kept telling her “I need help” “Please can you help me” In return she said “we’re here to help what do you need” I stated that I really need someone to talk to and she replied with “Yeah.” I then continued to cry down the phone to her to which she stayed completely silent or said “Take your time” continuously. This helpline is completely useless I was at a very vulnerable state and got no help whatsoever. To think that some poor person could ring this helpline looking for help with s*icidal thoughts and get the same response I’ve just gotten? Ridiculous. To add onto this, I’ve been trying this helpline for about 4 years now and every time I’ve gotten the same response, nothing seems to change. I have never had a helpful, empathetic or understanding person from this helpline with all of my experience. Do better before you risk someone’s life.

Their phone line for people who are struggling is so ridiculously weird it's like a comedy sketch. If it was'nt such an incredibely sensitive topic it would be hysterically funny. Some woman answered like she was answering for an over 18's line and said she can't respond it's just a listening line. I need help and to have a conversation with another human being, how can I do that if the person won't respond?!?! This is not the 1980's for god sake.

Just come off the phone to a young woman who really couldn’t be bothered with anything I said, she just kept on saying, Oh that’s tough!

No help at all, took me 4 attempts to actually get through to anyone. And the time I did get through I was really struggling with my health and was crying, but she didn’t seem bothered!

As a former listening volunteer at the South East London branch, I am deeply disappointed by how the organisation manages its voluntary workforce.

Volunteering is a freely given gift of time. Despite this, I experienced rigid and micro-management regarding scheduling. I was heavily challenged over arrival times and faced significant pressure to complete unsociable hours. It went as far as one stage, been told this is what I signed up for. The disrespect is beyond compare. This approach at the South East London branch fundamentally misunderstands the nature of voluntary service and places unrealistic burdens on people trying to give back to their community.

After I was verbally abused about this and, I raised formal concerns regarding this management style and the impact it had on me, the response from Senior Leadership was entirely dismissive. I received a generic, boilerplate email stating they could not share any specific actions due to "confidentiality," to me, leaving the issue completely unresolved.

The Samaritans perform vital work, but their internal management culture needs to remember that volunteers are not corporate employees. If you are considering volunteering here, be prepared for strict, inflexible demands on your personal time and zero accountability from leadership if you raise a grievance.

Got a horrid woman with no empathy and a thick foreign accent. She sounded bored and kept going "mmmm".. totally unhelpful. I hung up after 5 minutes. MIND were much better with a clear speaking listener who seemed to care.

I called twice with no answer. It took so much for me to make that call. I finally found a family member online and spoke to them. Some people dont have that! Will never recommend this service

after really spiralling tonight and being very worried i was going to self harm - i spoke to a lovely older gentleman who helped me more than i can express. he listened to me without judgement, made interesting conversation with me at a time that i didn’t think id be capable of that, and even managed to make me laugh a few times. thank you, jonathan. you really helped me.

I phoned last week after I had taken an overdose. The woman on the other end of the line couldn't have been less bothered. She asked if I wanted her to ring emergency services and I said no and she then just gave me half hearted responses and kept going quiet. I felt so uncared for that I told her I was going to go and she just said I could ring back if I wanted to. Luckily my husband found me and I'm getting help from the local mental health service.

I'm genuinely concerned for anyone that rings them that are feeling suicidal and would suggest instead they phone their local crisis number or 999.

Like taking to a brick wall absolutely useless people that get a kick out of your problems do not bother even ringing them as they need closing down as they appear to be no longer fit for purpose as if they ever were?

Useless. Stop removing reviews.

I was banned from Samaritans for three months for being very unhappy and mentally ill took an overdose and now have liver damage. Stay away is my advise they couldn't care less.

Like Crimestoppers,111 etc another broken so called "helpline".I first phoned years ago.Had attempted suicide with sleeping pills.Samaritan said sort yourself out or may as well go back to the pills.Phoned small number of times since then,always dreadful call handlers there,in my opinion, for all the wrong reasons,like enjoying the negative power they have over people at their most vulnerable or even suicidal by appearing disinterested with zero empathy.Seems they haven't improved.Remember if you get a disinterested,hostile or even abusive call handler on phone you don't have to carry on the call,just hang up.Terrible organisation from my experiences and seems that's totally reflected on this platform.

the person who i spoke to was nothing but understanding, and listened to my experience, at the end they made jokes and i felt happier and listened to. although they didn’t give me much advice on maybe how to deal with the problem exactly, it felt good to finally talk about how i feel.

The person on the other end of the phone had absolutely no interest in helping me. He directed me to another website. Samaritans is no longer fit for purpose and should be disbanded.

Called this morning feeling so low. Explained that I'm ill and how I've put everyone else first but no one is there for me. Extremely upset and the response was " so how can you cheer yourself up"??!!! Where's the empathy?!

I called this number for help, it was like talking to myself, all they keep saying is they can’t offer advice, and they are a listener service, this company really needs to be looked into, I can only imagine how many people end their life after a horrible experience with them,the reviews speak for themselves, it simply is not good enough, the British people deserve better, this service is so out dated and not fit for purpose anymore

If you have a bad experience with Samaritans and think you can mention it, you WILL be hung up on. No matter how horrific it is, which shows a palpable disinterest in callers and the service.

I was laughed at and told “if that’s what you want to do I’m happy to listen” after answering yes if I was depressed or suicidal.

I’ve had volunteers laugh when I said my African name and treat me with disdain. I have called pretending to be racist and using the N word and they agreed!!!!! A woman called Steph.

I’ve had a young girl tell me she’s not here to listen to my health concerns when my father was unwell and I was also told that the volunteer didn’t know why I felt like the world owed me something when I couldn’t attend my friends funeral!

Supportive? Not if you’re black or in prison! Dates will vary because this is too common. Then they get away with more training but the person who needs support gets blocked?!? Samaritans do not value their callers, if they did they would record them be a volunteers are causing suicide and more depression and they don’t care.

The angels are 1 in 500

I thought it was an organization to help people fight depression. They never answer, never available and it seems they have no intention to help or not prepared for it. They are there probably to earn some money and that's it. Do not fall for that, look for real help .

It was an awful experience. I was telling them how I was feeling and that I was feeling down but there reply was nothing but silence what an absolute disgrace.

They listen and go quiet dont say a lot, you are feeling so low and all it is listen to you, you could commit suicide while you was on the phone and nothing to me they are a waste of time