Introduction

0.1 What is consumer vulnerability?

Vulnerability can affect anyone at any time. All consumers are different, with a wide range of needs, personal characteristics, health, abilities, and skills. These factors, plus the impact of life events and external conditions, such as organizational behaviour, can place consumers in a vulnerable situation, increasing the risk of them experiencing harm when dealing with organizations. Table 1 contains further information about these risk factors.

Consumer vulnerability can be permanent, temporary or sporadic, long or short term. A consumer’s needs and abilities can change over time, particularly if the consumer is faced with an unexpected change of circumstance or a particularly urgent or complex situation.

0.2 Impact of vulnerability on individuals

It is important to recognize that an organization’s systems, policies and processes can reduce or exacerbate consumer vulnerability and the risk of harm occurring. The presence of one or more vulnerability risk factors does not automatically mean that an individual is vulnerable. However, the presence of one or more of these factors, combined with organizational poor practice, can contribute to consumer vulnerability and lead to harm.

Consumers in vulnerable situations can find it difficult to:

— obtain, assimilate or retain information;
— access or choose suitable services;
— switch providers or tariffs;
— make decisions in their best interests;
— understand their rights;
— pursue complaints and obtain redress;
— pay for services.

Therefore, consumers in vulnerable situations are at a greater risk of experiencing negative outcomes when interacting with organizations. For example, financial loss, being unable to access services, receiving services unsuitable for needs, stress, inconvenience, exploitation or other harm.

Organizations that understand consumer vulnerability, and provide an inclusive and flexible approach, are better able to meet a diverse range of consumer needs, making it easier for consumers to access services and information, make good decisions and achieve positive outcomes.

0.3 Organizational benefits of adopting an inclusive service approach

This document specifies requirements and gives guidance for organizations on how to provide an inclusive service at all stages of service delivery, helping them to identify and support consumers in vulnerable situations. It is recognized that organizations will need to develop a tailored approach to the development and implementation of an inclusive service (see Annex A), dependent on the nature of their business and level of existing provision.

Adopting an inclusive service approach offers many potential benefits for organizations:

— increased customer base, by making services accessible to a greater number of individuals;
— improved service provision for all customers irrespective of their vulnerability status;
— improvement in the quality of consumer interactions, thereby minimizing the risk of harm;
— reduced likelihood of problems and complaints, as a result of operating effectively and getting things right first time, leading to a reduced cost of complaints handling;
— improved customer satisfaction, building consumer trust and enhancing the organization’s reputation;
— ability to demonstrate ethical behaviour and social responsibility;
— strengthened staff loyalty and engagement by ensuring that they feel valued, supported and confident in handling difficult situations;
— help to achieve compliance with legal obligations related to fairness and equality, by following good practice in the fair treatment of consumers in vulnerable situations.

BS ISO 22458:2022

Consumer vulnerability. Requirements and guidelines for the design and delivery of inclusive service

Current

Published:

30 Apr 2022