Vulnerable Customers

Every company has a basic duty of care to its customers. If a company’s product or service inherently includes a certain amount of risk or danger, expectations as to how these risks are contained will be particularly high.  

What often goes unnoticed is how specific groups may be affected by the product or service either because of exposure to the product or, in the case of essential utilities, a lack of access at certain times of the year. Such issues are often overlooked or misunderstood because they do not apply to the full customer base, or may not be immediately apparent.

Examples of vulnerable customers might include:

• People with addictive tendencies who are vulnerable to alcohol and gambling products
• Solvent abusers, vulnerable to harm caused by the inappropriate use of aerosols and lighter fuel products
• The elderly and those on low incomes who are ‘fuel poor’ and cannot afford to heat their homes
• People with diabetes or allergies who may need stronger information assurances on food.

Companies that have proactively sought to address the needs of vulnerable customers include:

• Camelot, which identified concepts and language that appeal to people with addictive tendencies, and used them to create a protocol against which all new games are screened
• Centrica, which has an active programme to support the needs of people caught in fuel poverty.