Many consumers in vulnerable circumstances are not receiving fair treatment from their financial services providers. Whilst there are examples of good practice in some firms, some people find communicating with providers or accessing products difficult. They may find that they are unable to obtain a flexible, tailored service that meets their needs from firms. We want to help firms identify consumers in potentially vulnerable circumstances, and to attempt to describe what ‘good’ looks like in serving those consumers.
This paper aims:
- to broaden understanding and stimulate interest and debate around vulnerability and
- to provide practical help and resources to firms in developing and implementing a vulnerability strategy
During the course of this project the authors were constantly on the lookout for examples of good practice in identifying and interacting with vulnerable customers. These have been collated and presented in a Practitioners’
Pack, which may support firms to understand what they could be doing to generate better outcomes for consumers in vulnerable circumstances (see Appendix 4). This resource consolidates a range of good practice guides, tips from industry and consumer organisations, together with case studies.