Here's a revised, professionally formatted version of your Vulnerable Customers Statement for use on a website like Simple Refunds, optimised for readability, clarity, and trustworthiness while preserving your original intent. This version is ready to be used on your website or internal training material.
Why Now This Matters
Recent regulatory changes in the UK reflect increasing expectations that businesses support vulnerable customers proactively:
From April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) introduced stronger protections around unfair trading, subscription contracts, drip pricing, and fake reviews, all of which aim to increase transparency and fairness for consumers.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has reinforced expectations via its Consumer Duty, requiring firms to deliver good outcomes for all customers, including those in vulnerable circumstances.
FCA reviews have found that many firms still have gaps in how they support vulnerable customers; for instance, only about 4 in 10 people with vulnerabilities say they’ve disclosed them to financial services firms.
These developments make it more important than ever that refund‐services companies like ours ensure vulnerable customers are treated with extra care and flexibility.
Our Principles for Treating Vulnerable Customers
We take our responsibilities seriously and commit to acting with empathy, fairness, and care in every interaction.
Our core principles include:
Treating every customer fairly, recognising each individual’s specific needs and situation.
Communicating clearly, compassionately, and making sure information is easy to understand.
Proactively fulfilling our duty of care by:
• Acting with honesty and good faith
• Avoiding foreseeable harm
• Supporting customers to reach fair outcomes, especially when they are under additional stress
Recognising Vulnerability
We train our staff to spot signs of vulnerability with sensitivity. While nobody is required to self‐identify, we consider someone vulnerable if they are experiencing one or more of:
Long-term physical or mental health conditions
Recent trauma or bereavement
Caring responsibilities
Cognitive, dexterity or sensory impairments
Limited ability to understand or use English
Financial hardship, or recent loss of income
How We Support You
If we believe a customer might be vulnerable, or if you tell us you are, we will:
Take time to listen and understand your situation
Offer you choices about how we communicate (e.g. phone, email, etc.)
Involve a trusted friend or relative if that would help
Escalate to senior staff if it's not clear that information you need is fully understood
Our Commitment
Simple Refunds is fully committed to making every refund interaction fair, respectful, and human. We are continuously training our team, refining our process, and aligning with the latest legal & regulatory standards to ensure that when customers are vulnerable, we are that bit more understanding.
If you or someone you are assisting is going through a difficult time, please let us know, we’re here to help.
https://www.cooley.com/news/insight/2025/2025-04-14-new-uk-consumer-law-regime-comes-into-force
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/vulnerable-customers-encouraged-open-firms-get-right-support
