Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Strategy. Read the original article for full details.
FOS Reports Increase in Vulnerable Customers
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) identified a quarter of customers who brought complaints last year as vulnerable, according to figures reported by Mortgage Strategy. This marks an increase from 10% in the previous year.
Figures for 2025/26 show that the FOS recorded 52,900 customers as vulnerable. This compares to 32,000 in 2024/25, when there was a higher total number of cases due to the impact of the motor finance scandal.
The Ombudsman attributes this increase to training and other efforts aimed at better identifying vulnerability among customers.
FCA Research on Vulnerable Customers
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) previously found that many vulnerable customers do not identify themselves as such. This places responsibility on firms and regulators to ensure vulnerable individuals are not overlooked.
FCA research revealed that only four in ten vulnerable customers disclosed their needs to their financial services provider. The research also showed that those who did disclose their circumstances generally had better experiences. Specifically, 74% of these customers said staff asked the right questions to understand their situation, 57% felt their firm cared, and 58% said their firm took action to provide the support they needed.
These findings highlight the importance for letting agents and inventory clerks to be aware of vulnerability issues and to ensure appropriate support is provided to customers who may be at risk.
Source: Mortgage Strategy