Vulnerable customers

With as many as one in two people in the UK showing characteristics of vulnerability at any point in their lives, it’s vital that we understand and support customers who may need us to engage differently.

It can be circumstances that are temporary or long term, visible or hidden. It simply means that someone may need more help to achieve the same outcome as anyone else.

Support is needed for many reasons

These could be things going on in their life, or something about their health, confidence, background or personal situation. Not everyone will see themselves as ‘vulnerable’, and they don’t have to. What matters is recognising when support might help and responding in a way that works for them.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) highlights four common drivers of vulnerability:

Health

Conditions that affect someone’s physical, mental or cognitive ability to carry out everyday tasks. This includes long-term illness, hearing or visual impairment, mental health issues, addiction or cognitive limitations.

Life events

Big life changes like bereavement, job loss, divorce, or becoming a carer. These can affect someone’s focus, emotions or availability.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) highlights four common drivers of vulnerability:

Resilience

Low ability to cope with financial or emotional pressure, which might stem from income shocks, debt, low savings, isolation or post trauma.

Capability

low confidence or knowledge when managing money. This could relate to poor literacy or digital skills or unfamiliarity with financial products.

Sharing support needs leads to better outcomes

Vulnerable customers have support needs

A vulnerable customer is anyone who has support needs that affect how they experience or engage with financial services. Support needs relate to the way they see, hear, speak, think, feel or act – and could be permanent, temporary or situational.

For example, someone might have support needs because they have a hearing impairment, are recovering from illness or speak English as a second language. They might need more time, simpler explanations or information in a different format.

Understanding and meeting support needs helps ensure all customers receive good outcomes and feel supported.

You play a key role in us meeting support needs as early as possible

You don’t need to diagnose or label a customer.

If something feels unusual or like the customer is struggling, that may be a sign that they have support needs.

We’re committed to providing fair and flexible support

If a customer has support needs, we can make small changes that make a big difference. Here are some of the ways we can help:

Act when a customer might need support

Let us know early so we can support the customer from the start

You can share this information under the ‘Applicant Details’ section in the Broker Portal. If you need help, contact our Broker Liaison team on 03300 585495.

We can still help after completion

For any post-completion concerns, contact our Servicing team by calling 03451 220033. For general enquiries, email to mortgagesupport@relymortgages.co.uk. Remember, email isn't secure. Please avoid sharing financial or sensitive details in your message.