New guide helps energy suppliers address the vulnerability agenda

There are practical steps that energy suppliers can take to help those most in need.

The issue of customers in vulnerable circumstances has been climbing up the agenda in many industries in recent years. Some of the better-known work in this area has taken place in financial services, where specialist teams, not least through the work of the Financial Services Vulnerability Taskforce, which I was pleased to chair. Referral partnerships and practical support are now increasingly becoming widespread and well embedded.

At the Money Advice Trust, we have worked with more than 160 organisations to improve the support they offer to customers and staff – and we are increasingly engaging with energy suppliers on this crucial agenda.
Energy UK has played an important role in promoting good practice on vulnerability among suppliers through its voluntary principles and codes of practice. Thanks to the efforts of Energy UK’s recently-formed Vulnerability Group, we have been pleased to produce a new guide for energy suppliers on vulnerability and mental health.

It is perhaps no surprise that vulnerability has become an increasing concern within the energy sector, particularly given ongoing concerns over energy debt in the UK. Almost one in eight callers to National Debtline (12 per cent) last year had a debt to their current energy supplier. Many households are under serious financial pressure, with low wage growth, increasing living costs and squeezed household budgets – all of which can contribute to creating vulnerable situations.

Mental health problems are a significant factor in how customers engage with service providers – and estimates suggest that mental health issues affect one in four people in the UK in a given year. Serious illness can similarly affect engagement. Mental capacity limitations can make it more difficult for people to understand their situation, make decisions, retain information or communicate with their energy company.

The list of vulnerable circumstances goes on and on – and they all create a significant risk of detriment. For frontline staff, identifying and knowing how to respond to customers in vulnerable situations can be challenging, particularly where it involves sensitive topics, or where the impact on customers changes over time.

The guide emphasises the practical steps that suppliers can take to help their staff better identify, understand and support customers in vulnerable situations. Importantly, it also establishes what we mean by vulnerability, mental health and mental capacity and how they relate to one another. At the heart of the steps for suppliers are key tools for staff to use in specific situations.

The TEXAS model is one such example that can be used by staff handling a disclosure of vulnerability. Other examples include the BRUCE model for dealing with customers with potential mental capacity issues and the BLAKE model, which helps staff respond to consumers in crisis.

The guide also looks at how organisations can develop and use better data on vulnerability by collecting routine data, drawing on the experiences of staff, adopting the right quality monitoring indicators, call recordings and speech analytics.

For those within the industry who are already familiar with the challenge of vulnerability, this guidance provides a tool for thinking about what more can be done and new areas of focus. For those who may have done less in this area, including new market entrants, we hope it will prove a valuable resource for getting up to speed in supporting their customers and staff.

I would encourage anyone looking for practical guidance on how to support staff and customers to have a look at the guide as a starting point for further action – and look forward to having further discussions with suppliers on how we can work together to better support customers in the years ahead.