2 Part Course  | 
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Vulnerable Customers

2 Part Course  |  Learn about the FCA expectations and understand how to respond

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A one-day vulnerable customers training course presented over two-half days in a virtual class from 9:30am to 1:00pm UK time

Part 1

Session 1: Introduction – The Regulatory Position

The introductory module of the vulnerable customers course covers the key regulatory framework surrounding vulnerable customer treatment, including:
  • Occasional Paper 8
  • The FCA definition of a vulnerable customer
  • GC19/3 and GC20/3: Guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers
  • Assessing the March 2020 TISA Vulnerability Conference speech by the FCA’s Director of Consumer and Retail Policy Nisha Arora
  • FCA Expectations and Final; Guidance in 2021
  • Impact of the Consumer Duty on dealing with vulnerable customers

Session 2: Identifying Vulnerable Customers

  • Understanding the sheer scale and prevalence of vulnerability
  • How can we increase the number of customers informing us of their vulnerability?
  • Three broad vulnerability categories
  • Dealing with vulnerable customers training differentiates between permanent vs. temporary vulnerability
  • Red flags which may suggest vulnerability
  • Characteristics of vulnerable customers – how we can identify them
  • EXERCISE: review 18 potential causes of vulnerability and consider which ones would be largely recognised by front-line staff in your firm
  • CASE STUDIES: three scenarios to identify the drivers of vulnerability for participants to work through and discuss (elderly, illness, divorce)

Session 3: Understanding the Needs of Vulnerable Customers

  • Financial difficulty and vulnerable customers (in a cost-of-living crisis)
  • Cause and effect? Symptoms or root cause?
  • Are there universal needs of vulnerable clients?
  • Distribution channels which help or hinder – an understanding of the issues against typical historic approaches used by firms
  • Training staff to deal with vulnerable customers requires putting ourselves in the customer’s shoes without assuming
  • How do we gather and record vulnerability information – are systems fit for purpose?
Day 1 will end with a wrap-up, including a summary and any questions from delegates

Part 2

Session 4: Staff Skills & Knowledge

  • FCA expectations of staff
  • ITDA – Interaction, Task, Detriment, Action
  • 5 Key strategies to help front-line staff be the best they can
  • How do you best support your staff around vulnerability? Is eLearning sufficient?
  • How to be practical when dealing with vulnerability: the BRUCE, IDEA and TEXAS models for vulnerable customers
  • Topics for inclusion in training:
    • Empathy and sensitivity
    • Active listening
    • The Behaviour Cycle; recognising the steps and how to break it
    • How to recognise potential vulnerable customers
    • Responding; how to build confidence
    • What options do they have for helping the customer?
  • EXERCISE: Understanding what stops us from having these discussions with clients (and how we overcome that) concludes this vulnerable customers course session

Session 5: Practical Actions to Help Vulnerable Customers

  • What the industry is judged to do incorrectly
  • Understanding what Good practice looks like in your firm, for your vulnerable clients
  • Forbearance
  • Understanding the Vulnerability Task Force (VTF) initiative
  • Sources of info and roles:
    • Dementia Friends
    • Friends Against Scams
    • Money Advice Trust and WiserAdviser
    • SOLLA
  • EXERCISE: Looking at the 9 VTF principles to understand their thinking, and assessing good practice ideas for Financial Services and other industries.

Session 6: Governance & Reasonable Steps

  • Alignment with The Consumer Duty work
  • This vulnerable customer training course evaluates policies, procedures and processes
  • Systems support – designed to support or made to fit?
  • Organising the support functions and resources effectively
  • Being clear on what can be done and empowering staff
  • An enterprise-wide approach – clarity, practicality, transparency
  • Management Information – how might senior managers measure the outcomes of their vulnerable customer measures?
  • Effective processes for recording and addressing vulnerability – a one-stop shop
  • Understanding your vulnerability landscape via complaints
  • Integrating your commitment to vulnerability and your financial promotions processes and product oversight & governance

Conclusion & Course Wrap-Up

  • Summary
  • Questions about dealing with vulnerable customers training
  • Open forum

Our trainer, an expert in financial services and compliance, brings over 20 years of experience to Redcliffe’s Vulnerable Customer Training courses. He has a strong track record of delivering expert guidance on a range of compliance topics, including financial crime and regulatory matters.

Formerly the Head of Education for HSBC across the UK and Europe, he oversaw compliance training related to regulatory requirements and financial crime prevention. His tenure at HSBC was during a critical period of heightened regulatory scrutiny, including the bank’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement, where he played a key role in ensuring the organisation adhered to stringent compliance standards.

In addition to delivering Redcliffe’s Vulnerable Customer Training course programs, our trainer has held senior roles in compliance and risk management, including leading the Monitoring and Testing program for a UK Wealth Manager and serving as Senior Vice President for Global Risk & Compliance Training at a US-based bank. He also worked at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the expert on rules in the Training & Competence Handbook for the Insurance Firms Division.

His broad experience across both financial services and regulatory bodies provides him with a unique perspective on compliance, risk management, and vulnerable customer care, which informs his engaging and insightful vulnerable customer course.

Redcliffe’s vulnerable customers training course will teach you the following:
  • Practical measures to help your firm deal with vulnerable customers confidently and effectively
  • Understand the FCA’s expectations on how firms are expected to consistently serve vulnerable customers and organise themselves to do this.
  • Recognising good practices and simultaneously avoiding poor practices.
  • Recognise the linkages between the design and marketing of your products and services and how they relate to our vulnerable customer experience – in other words, joined-up thinking.
  • How you should skill staff to recognise vulnerability.
  • To highlight some of the discussion models available and other sources of industry best practice.
  • Review your vulnerable customer procedures, determine if they are fit for purpose and deliver the right outcomes.
  • Identify the regulatory developments around vulnerability from 2015 onwards to better contextualise actions required today.
  • This vulnerable customer course also touches on the role of the Vulnerability Task Force and how their work supports firms.

  • We are fully aware of how FCA expectations have evolved, along with best practices and mandatory updates, all of which are effectively reflected in our vulnerable customer course.
  • Redcliffe Training has served clients of all shapes and sizes in the financial sector. We are fully aware of the obligations of a regulated firm and what is expected from them by the regulator.
  • We have been delivering courses for over 20 years and are certain we deliver…. as well as anyone in the marketplace.
  • Our expert trainer brings extensive experience as both a regulator and a trainer of regulatory requirements across wholesale and retail financial firms. He will share valuable insights from his past experiences to enhance the vulnerable customer training course, ensuring it is both practical and impactful.
  • We do not use academics. All our trainers are highly experienced professionals with relevant vocational experience in real-world settings.
  • The case studies included in this course will enhance your learning. They are often found to be essential in truly understanding the requirements and growing the skills to apply them.
  • We are always judged by our results which speak for themselves, and previous feedback received from delegates has always been excellent.

  • Dealing with vulnerable customers training is designed for those working in regulated firms. While much of the session references FCA rules; the underlying principles support effective customer support regardless of jurisdiction. First-line staff will gain value when they are dealing with clients directly or managing teams that have client interaction, overseeing the firm’s response to vulnerability, being involved in the design of training frameworks to address vulnerability responses or simply wishing to understand more
  • Second- and third-line staff who are advising risk owners or evaluating systems and controls in place to meet vulnerability requirements, will also find this vulnerable customers training course valuable in ensuring appropriate coverage of their work

Vulnerability is an issue most people hope to avoid personally, but we all expect to receive appropriate care and support if we find ourselves in such a situation. Increasingly, companies are committing to support vulnerable customers in accordance with FCA guidelines, and this approach is being widely recognised as both necessary and responsible. Regulators are backing this shift, and there is a growing expectation that firms must do more to meet these responsibilities.

Vulnerable customer training courses are now an essential requirement for firms to ensure their staff are equipped to identify and support vulnerable individuals effectively. Companies must also structure their operations with a strong focus on fairness, prioritising the needs of vulnerable customers. Senior managers, in particular, should review their practices to understand potential risks for vulnerable clients and take appropriate steps to mitigate these risks where possible.

This comprehensive training course provides a thorough understanding of vulnerability, how to address it, and the steps needed to integrate these approaches into a practical and sustainable operating model.

With a clear focus on education and engagement, this vulnerable customer course encourages active participation throughout. Practical examples are used to reinforce key concepts, ensuring the learning is not just theoretical but directly applicable to real-world scenarios.

  • The instructor was excellent.
Number of places:
Part 1

£ 695.00

Number of places:
Part 2

£ 695.00

Discounts available:

  • 2 places at 30% less
  • 3 places at 40% less
  • 4 places at 50% less
  • 5 places at 55% less
  • 6+ places at 60% less
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