Vulnerability training

Supporting customers in vulnerable circumstances

​Health, disability, unemployment, bereavement, domestic violence and addiction can all contribute to making someone more vulnerable.

Customers in vulnerable circumstances are especially susceptible to detriment. Your staff need to know how to identify and work with these customers in a way that is both consistent and fair.

This can have a positive impact on your ability to recover debts, employee morale and your reputation as a responsible organisation.

What's covered?

• Key factors that may impact on vulnerability and categories of vulnerability
• Statutory principles under the Mental Capacity Act, including which individuals may act in a legal capacity for the person in debt
• The TEXAS protocol for handling disclosure of sensitive personal information
• The four points of the Compass technique as a tool for understanding the significance of the vulnerability presented
• Different pathways for debtors to obtain free, independent, money advice

Benefits to you

• Improve your reputation as a responsible organisation that treats customers fairly
• Gain the skills, tools and confidence to handle customers in vulnerable circumstances fairly and consistently
• Improve your debt recovery rates and broken repayment arrangements, and minimise the likelihood of additional costs
• Meet your legal and regulatory responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act and Data Protection Act
• Supports all parts of your business (lending, customer service, fraud, retention, collections and digital)

Supporting customers with mental health conditions

Every year one in four adults will experience a mental health problem.

Being aware of the range of mental health conditions and their impact is a vital part of understanding your customers and achieving the right outcomes for your organisation or business.

What's covered?

• What a mental health condition
• Why it is important to identify mental health conditions and the impact they can have on a customer
• The difference between a range of mental health conditions
• Why customers may not disclose their mental health condition
• How to respond when a customer makes an initial disclosure
• Other techniques for helping customers with different mental health problem

Benefits to you

• Improve your reputation as a responsible organisation that treats customers fairly
• Gain the skills, tools and confidence to handle customers in vulnerable circumstances fairly and consistently
• Improve your debt recovery rates and broken repayment arrangements, and minimise the likelihood of additional costs
• Meet your legal and regulatory responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act and Data Protection Act
• Supports all parts of your business (lending, customer service, fraud, retention, collections and digital)

Building personal resilience

Firms and their staff play a crucial role in supporting customers in vulnerable circumstances.

However, staff can sometimes be presented with difficult situations that over time can have an effect on their wellbeing both emotionally and professionally.

It is important for your workplace to have measures in place to support your staff so that they can help your customers effectively.

What's covered?

• Why people react the way they do
• Identifying and exploring personal boundaries and triggers
• Practical steps to take when you are in 'the moment'
• Looking after yourself both during and after an interaction with a vulnerable customers

Benefits to you

• Improve your reputation as a responsible organisation that treats staff and customers fairly
• The course is hosted online, providing you with a flexible schedule and environment to suit your staff as they can attend from anywhere
• Improve your overall workplace environment with a more resilient workforce and organisation which can result in increased productivity
• Improve your reputation as an employer who supports staff
• Reduction in staff sickness levels

Suicide first aid: Understanding suicide intervention for essential services

One in four frontline collections staff report that they have spoken to at least one customer they seriously believe might be at risk of suicide in the last 12 months – and yet many staff feel unsure about what do in these extremely difficult situations.

The Money Advice Trust has partnered with the National Centre for Suicide Prevention Education and Training, to deliver a course tailored to customers of financial services companies.

Our programme equips frontline staff with the skills and confidence to intervene. The focus is on immediate safety, not fixing problems or trying to deliver therapeutic interventions. The skills we teach can be mastered by anyone.

What's covered?

• The impact and value of personal and professional experience with suicide
• Barriers that prevent people at risk seeking help
• Prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviours
• The Signs of Suicide and the Suicide-Safety Guide
• Partnership working and community resources

Benefits to you

• Gain a qualification in Suicide First Aid accredited by City & Guilds
• Gain the skills, tools and confidence to help customers in vulnerable circumstances fairly and consistently
• Meet your legal and regulatory responsibilities
• Supports all parts of your business (lending, customer service, fraud, retention, collections and digital)

Understanding and supporting customers with a serious illness

A serious illness can have a devastating effect on a person and their family, and staff can find these disclosures particularly challenging.

Recent research shows that frontline collections staff will receive an average of 15 disclosures a month about a customer with a serious illness.

Equipping staff to have these conversations and identify and support people who have a serious illness is a vital part of achieving the right outcomes for your organisation and your customers.

What's covered

• what is a serious illness?
• What affect does serious illness have on your organisation?
• Common conditions
• How to handle a customer’s disclosure – from initial response to managing the disclosure and adhering to the Data Protection Act
• How to better understand a customer’s situation
• The five components of the TEXAS acronym as a tool for dealing with vulnerable factors
• The four points of the IDEA technique as a tool for understanding the significance of the vulnerability presented
• Strategies for dealing with challenging circumstances, including customers who are in shock, angry or low, customers who may be disabled or carers who make contact

Benefits to you

• Improve your reputation as a responsible organisation that treats customers fairly
• Gain the skills, tools and confidence to handle customers in vulnerable circumstances fairly and consistently
• Improve your debt recovery rates and Improve broken repayment arrangements, and minimise the likelihood of additional financial costs, and a worsening of the customer's mental health
• Meet your legal and regulatory responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act and Data Protection Act
• Supports all parts of your business (lending, customer service, fraud, retention, collections and digital)

Identifying and supporting customers with gambling, alcohol and substance addictions

People living with any addiction - be it gambling, alcohol or substance misuse - can have complex and difficult lives. This can easily lead to financial detriment, including over-spending, loss of control and difficulty managing their finances.

Recent research shows that one in four frontline creditor staff find it difficult to talk about the issue of 'addictions' with customers – more than any other type of vulnerable situation.

With one in four specialist staff and one in ten frontline staff encountering customers with an addition 'most days' or 'every day' it is vital staff are able to understand, identify and support customers suffering from an addiction.

What's covered?

• What addiction is, how common it is and how can we help customers deal with it
• What causes addiction and the financial consequences of addiction on customers
• Identifying the cues and signs of addiction
• Understanding why conversations about addiction fail
• Learning where you can get help for a customer with addiction
• The five components of the TEXAS acronym as a tool for dealing with addiction
• The four points of the IDEA technique as a tool for understanding addiction
• Strategies for dealing with challenging circumstances, including customers who may resist or even refuse our help

Benefits to you

• Improve your reputation as a responsible organisation that treats customers fairly
• Gain the skills, tools and confidence to help customers in vulnerable circumstances fairly and consistently
• Improve your debt recovery rates and broken repayment arrangements, and minimise the likelihood of additional financial costs
• Meet your legal and regulatory responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act and Data Protection Act
• Supports all parts of your business (lending, customer service, fraud, retention, collections and digital)

Identifying and supporting customers with mental capacity limitations

Mental capacity limitations can result in customers having significant problems with understanding, remembering, and evaluating information about credit products they are applying for, as well as communicating a decision about this.

Where not identified, these can result in detriment including borrowing, lending and contracts that result in ‘later downstream’ financial difficulty and problem debt.

This course covers practical steps and actions you can take to identify and support customers with mental capacity limitations (and other decision-making difficulties) during credit applications.

What's covered?

• Identify what ‘mental capacity’ and a ‘mental capacity limitation’ are
• Recognise ways that a mental capacity limitation can affect a customer’s ability to cope with their finances
• Recognise the ways in which a customer with a mental capacity limitation can be identified and supported
• Identify the key principles of working with customers with a mental capacity limitation
• Identify the key components of the BRUCE tool to be able to apply them
• Identify the components of laws and regulations that apply to mental capacity

Benefits to you

• Improve your reputation as a responsible organisation that treats customers fairly
• Gain the skills, tools and confidence to handle customers in vulnerable circumstances fairly and consistently
• Improve your debt recovery rates and broken repayment arrangements, and minimise the likelihood of additional costs
• Meet your responsibilities under the Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory frameworks relating to mental capacity, contracting and decision-making, and arrears (CONC and MCOB), as well as wider UK law
• Supports all parts of your business (lending, customer service, fraud, retention, collections and digital)

Understanding and identifying energy customers in vulnerable circumstances

Customer vulnerability is high on the energy industry’s agenda. The Commission for Customers in Vulnerable Circumstances, established by Energy UK, has recently called for immediate action to improve support for energy customers in vulnerable circumstances.

The Commission, chaired by Lord Whitty and comprising five Commissioners, including Money Advice Trust chief executive Joanna Elson OBE, published its report in May 2019. The report found that despite some good practice, the energy sector is not regularly meeting the needs of customers and that ‘urgent action’ is required. Energy companies need to ensure they have the right systems, processes and staff training to help customers in vulnerable circumstances.

What's covered?

• Understand what is meant by consumer vulnerability
• Understand regulatory requirements and best practice for energy companies
• Explore how to identify customers in vulnerable situations by using appropriate questioning techniques
• Understand the Priority Services Register, who is eligible and what services are available
• Explore what support is available to customers in vulnerable circumstances within your organisation and externally

Benefits to you

• Improve your reputation as a responsible organisation that treats customers fairly
• Gain the skills, tools and confidence to handle customers in vulnerable circumstances fairly and consistently
• Improve your debt recovery rates and broken repayment arrangements, and minimise the likelihood of additional costs
• Meet your responsibilities under the Ofgem’s definition of consumer vulnerability and the role of the Priority Services Register as well as wider UK law
• Supports all parts of your business (customer service, retention, collections and digital)