Consumer Vulnerability: Occasional Paper No.8

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