Customers in vulnerable circumstances

Skills you'll practise

• Recognize cues that a customer may be in vulnerable circumstances, without diagnosing or labelling them
• Ask what would help and offer practical adjustments within your procedures
• Record a customer's support needs accurately, with consent and only to the extent needed
• Handle a third party or a bereavement contact within authority and data protection rules
• Use the urgent route when a customer may be at immediate risk of harm

Course outline

1. 1.Customers in vulnerable circumstancesVideo · 3 min
2. 2.What vulnerability means in customer serviceLesson · 15 min
3. 3.Responding: adjustments and careful recordsLesson · 15 min
4. 4.Third parties, bereavement and urgent riskLesson · 15 min
5. 5.Customers in vulnerable circumstances: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 16 questions
6. 6.Customers in vulnerable circumstances: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
7. 7.A call about a late husband's accountScenario
8. 8.Final exam8 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out

Sources it draws on

The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.

• FCA FG21/1: Guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers (UK example)
• ICO: What is special category data? (UK GDPR example)
• Your organization's service procedures, authority limits and escalation paths
• General customer service and field service practice (starter content; needs subject review)