FCA warns of 'problems at every stage' in dealing with vulnerable consumers

Vulnerable consumers are those with poor literacy skills, those who have caring responsibilities, people with disabilities, dementia or the elderly. Financial services, products and systems often ‘streamline' consumers and are "not designed to meet nonstandard needs of those who don't fit into a set mould", the paper said. Part of a series of ‘occasional papers' commissioned by the regulator and designed to encourage debate among academics, practitioners and policymakers, the paper called on firms to improve the understanding of their customers. It warned vulnerable consumers risk ...