Issues ›
Support for vulnerable customers
Failure to recognise or support a customer in vulnerable circumstances.
5,853banking decisions on this issue
32.8%upheld where an outcome is recorded
27firms with 20+ decisions here
Rules the ombudsman applied
Derived from the rules actually cited in these decisions, ranked by how often they appear — not from an editorial view of which rules matter.
Equality Act 2010 · cited in 483
Duties toward customers with protected characteristics, including reasonable adjustments.
Consumer Credit Act 1974 · cited in 342
Consumer credit rights, including Section 75 joint liability for card purchases.
Payment Services Regulations 2017 · cited in 335
Governs how payment firms must handle authorised and unauthorised payments, including liability for unauthorised transactions.
CRM Code (APP scam reimbursement) · cited in 276
Voluntary code on reimbursing victims of authorised push payment scams, superseded for in-scope payments by the PSR requirement.
FCA Consumer Duty (PRIN 2A) · cited in 249
Requires firms to deliver good outcomes for retail customers.
FCA CONC (Consumer Credit sourcebook) · cited in 239
Conduct rules for consumer credit, including affordability and arrears handling.
Which firms lose on this
| Firm | Decisions | Upheld | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barclays Bank UK PLC | 328 | 116 | 35.4% |
| Bank of Scotland Plc | 308 | 90 | 29.2% |
| Santander UK Plc | 267 | 100 | 37.5% |
| Lloyds Bank PLC | 262 | 78 | 29.8% |
| Nationwide Building Society | 197 | 59 | 29.9% |
| National Westminster Bank Plc | 177 | 48 | 27.1% |
| HSBC UK Bank Plc | 162 | 56 | 34.6% |
| MONZO BANK LIMITED | 161 | 69 | 42.9% |
| Barclays Bank Plc | 152 | 43 | 28.3% |
| TSB Bank plc | 135 | 63 | 46.7% |
| Revolut Limited | 111 | 28 | 25.2% |
| HSBC Bank plc | 96 | 15 | 15.6% |
| NewDay Ltd | 80 | 40 | 50.0% |
| NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY | 62 | 13 | 21.0% |
| Clydesdale Bank Plc | 61 | 26 | 42.6% |
| Starling Bank Limited | 55 | 14 | 25.5% |
| Capital One (Europe) plc | 54 | 16 | 29.6% |
| Tesco Personal Finance Limited | 47 | 16 | 34.0% |
| Vanquis Bank Limited | 47 | 22 | 46.8% |
| Metro Bank PLC | 37 | 15 | 40.5% |
| MBNA Limited | 37 | 9 | 24.3% |
| Sainsbury's Bank Plc | 32 | 13 | 40.6% |
| Halifax Limited | 31 | 8 | 25.8% |
| Co-operative Bank Financial Advisers Limited | 31 | 14 | 45.2% |
| American Express Services Europe Limited | 27 | 10 | 37.0% |
| J.P. Morgan Europe Limited | 25 | 9 | 36.0% |
| Zopa Bank Limited | 22 | 5 | 22.7% |
Firms with fewer than 20 decisions on this issue are excluded — the rate would not mean anything.
In the ombudsman’s words
I note Mr M mentioned to Secret Eye that he suffered from mental health problems and often struggled with reading.
Mr R is on the autistic spectrum
Mr T is an additional cardholder on the account. Mr T told us that he’s been diagnosed with mental health problems and has a learning disability.
It’s also passed her account to its Customer Priority Team which helps vulnerable consumers.
Quotes are shown only where the exact wording was verified against the decision text.