We understand that every customer is different, with personal circumstances unique to them and we want to make sure that we work with each one of you in a way that meets your needs.
There could be any number of reasons that mean you would like us to work with you differently today, in the future, or on an ongoing basis. This might be because you have experienced a life changing event, because of your mental or physical wellbeing,
or maybe you learn and understand information in a different way and would like support from a third party to help you manage your money and mortgage.
Our regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), considers these different circumstances
‘vulnerabilities’ and has asked us to think about the support we provide to you and how that support can be tailored to suit different customer needs.
'In May 2022, 47% of UK adults had characteristics of vulnerability, up from 46% in February 2020 – an increase of nearly a million people.'
Source: FCA Financial Lives Survey 2022
Many people may not consider themselves to be vulnerable, so to help give you an idea of the types of circumstances that are considered ‘vulnerabilities’ we’ve created a list using the categories identified by the FCA, Health, Life Events, Resilience and Capability.
Health. This can be any kind of health condition that may affect your ability to carry out day to day activities. For example:
Life Events. There are often additional pressures associated with many life events that can affect how you manage your finances. Or maybe a change in situation means you must take on the finances when someone else in your household managed
them on your behalf. For example:
There are many ways we can offer you additional support depending on your needs, from speaking with someone you trust, to giving you extra time to absorb or get help with reviewing information. Here are a few examples of how we can support you: