Smart Money People, the UK’s comprehensive financial services review site, has launched a new cross-industry working group focused on creating better communication for customers in vulnerable situations.
Smart Money People says it is launching the working group having recognised that, despite the implementation of the FCA‘s Consumer Duty over a year ago, 81 per cent of customers say they have seen no positive improvement in the way their financial services companies treat them in the past 12 months.
While a significant proportion of customers in vulnerable circumstances are still not being served effectively by the industry, the group aims to refine the questions financial services companies ask vulnerable people to better understand their needs, as well as developing recommendations for the industry on best practices for identifying and communicating with them effectively.
Jacqueline Dewey, CEO of Smart Money People, commented: “The FCA’s Consumer Duty is specifically designed to raise standards of care for financial services customers, with a particular focus on customers in a vulnerable position. However, our data shows these customers are not seeing the impact of these guidelines 12 months later.
“We have established the working group to help create best practices across the industry, and Smart Money People is well positioned to bring a wealth of insight to these sessions to help providers better serve the customers who most need our support.”
The working group is made up of members from building societies, credit unions and debt management companies, as well as Fair4All Finance, the not-for-profit financial inclusion organisation.
Diane Burridge, interim director of development at Fair4All Finance, also commented: “The importance of clear, easy-to-understand communication cannot be underestimated. Our research has shown more than 20 million UK adults are living in financially vulnerable circumstances, and many within that number have complex requirements. We echo Smart Money People’s commitment to raising awareness of this issue and welcome the chance to work collaboratively to support a consistent standard of service for these customers.”