Supporting your clients through tough times

A vulnerable customer is someone who might struggle due to their personal circumstances. It makes them more likely to have a poor experience with us, if we don’t do everything we can to support them.   

We can all have times where we find it hard to cope or to make important decisions. And that’s when we might need extra help and support. We’ll help you make sure your clients get the help they deserve.  

What can make someone vulnerable?

Anyone can be a vulnerable customer, but there are four things which make it more likely:  

• Health – physical or mental health conditions or illnesses. 
• Life events – such as bereavement, divorce or relationship breakdown. 
• Resilience – this can be financial or emotional resilience. For example, a life event can make it hard to cope with stressful or unexpected situations. Low savings can make it hard to cope with an unexpected bill.  
• Capability – low knowledge or confidence in finance. Or poor literacy, numeracy or digital skills.

How might this affect them? 

 It can make it hard for them to manage their finances. In 2023, 5.6 million adults missed payments in at least three out of the last six months. This number has increased by 1.4 million since 2022.  

Based on research from the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives 2022 survey.  

It also means they’re more likely to:  

• Find it hard to open a new account. 
• Stay with their current provider – even if they know they could get a better deal elsewhere. 

• Struggle with changes in how their account looks or operates. 

• Struggle if there’s a problem with the service they receive. 

Based on research from the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. 

Things to watch out for:  

It’s not always easy to spot if someone is vulnerable. Here are some things to watch out for: 

• Payments stopping suddenly. 
• Late or missed payments. 

• I can’t pay. 
• I’m having trouble paying. 
• I can’t understand the letter you sent me. 
• I can’t hold on all day. 
• I hate these press buttons. 

• Shortness of breath – a sign they could be anxious or agitated. 
• Asking you to repeat something – this is a sign they’re struggling to retain or understand what you’re saying. 
• Taking a long time to answer questions or repeating themselves – these are signs of confusion. 

How can you help them?  

Tell us about your customer. Fill in this form to let us know what they need. 

If they’d like to speak to us directly, they can contact our specialist team on 01274 089767.  

Telling us won’t negatively impact their mortgage application in any way.  

Ways we can support them 

We can:  

• Use SignLive. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can talk to us through a British Sign Language interpreter.  
• Write to them in different ways – by braille, large print, or changing the colour of the paper we use.  
• Speak to someone else on their behalf, with their permission.  
• Make a note of any preferences, for example, only calling at certain times.  
• Only contact them in a certain way. For example, only by email if they’re anxious about phone calls.  
• Be sensitive about bereavements. We can make sure we don't mention the person they’ve lost or the condition they had.  

More information 

• We’ve recorded a podcast to help you support your clients. 
• Here’s our Vulnerable Customer policy.  

If there’s anything else you need, please get in touch.