What to do if you feel unsupported by your financial provider during a difficult time

If you’re dealing with a situation that makes you financially vulnerable whether it’s due to illness, grief or financial pressures during a challenging life event, financial services providers are expected to treat you fairly and support you. 

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced guidance to make sure people in difficult life situations get the support they need. If that hasn’t been your experience, this article shares what you can do to let your financial services provider know and how to escalate your case if things don’t improve.

It’s important to speak up

A new study by Smart Money People reveals that 68% of customers* in a vulnerable situation don’t tell any financial providers about their circumstances.

For those that did talk to their provider, more than half (52%) said their treatment was more positive than before. This included better customer service (52%), more communication checking in on them (41%), and more information to protect them from fraud or scams (37%).

However, 13% of vulnerable customers said they experienced worse treatment. Concerningly, a quarter (24%) of those who received worse treatment reported being ignored by financial providers. This is why it’s so important to make use of the rules and protections in place to make sure you’re being treated fairly.

Start by contacting your provider

If you feel a financial services company hasn’t understood your situation or treated you with the care you expected, your first step should be to get in touch with them. This gives them a chance to understand your situation and make reasonable adjustments, which they’re required to do under the FCA guidance.

You can do this by phone, in writing, by email or using online chat, whatever works best for you. When you contact them, explain what’s happened, why it’s impacting you and how you’d like it to be resolved. There may be some things that companies can't do in certain situations, but they should be able to explain what help they can offer and suggest alternatives where appropriate.

This is also a good time to ask for adjustments to how you’re contacted. If phone calls are difficult, you could ask them to contact you by email or letter instead. It’s a good idea to make your own notes about who you spoke to and when, what you asked for and how they responded so there’s a record. If this is difficult, ask someone you trust to help you document everything.

If things aren’t resolved, you can make a formal complaint

If the issue isn’t sorted out, you can make a formal complaint. Every financial services company has a complaints process and they must share how to use it. Details will be on their website, in documents they’ve sent you or you can contact them to ask about their complaints process.

When you make a complaint, let them know what’s happened, why you’re not happy with how they’ve handled it and the outcome you’re hoping for. You can do this in writing, over the phone or online. It’s also a good idea to keep notes or a copy of your complaint as well as any replies you receive.

They have up to eight weeks to respond. In many cases, they’ll aim to put things right which could mean fixing a mistake, apologising, improving their processes or offering compensation.

If you're still not happy, the Financial Ombudsman can help

If your complaint isn’t resolved after eight weeks or you’re not happy with the final response you received, you can refer your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). This is a free, independent service that deals with disputes between financial services companies and customers. The FOS review all the facts of the case to help them make a fair decision. If you want to refer your case to the Ombudsman, you’ll need to do this within six months following the date of the final response letter received from the company.

The FOS has an online form to complete to refer your complaint to them. If you need information in a different format, you can check the Ombudsman’s accessibility services page. You can nominate someone you trust to speak to the FOS on your behalf.

If the Ombudsman agrees that you’ve been treated unfairly, they can tell the company to put things right. That could mean refunding charges, changing processes or paying you compensation.

Support is there for you

There are rules and protections in place to make sure financial services companies treat people fairly, especially during challenging times. Although it can be daunting to speak up or make a complaint, it’s often the best way to make sure your needs are understood. You have a right to fair treatment and taking action can help get you the support you’re entitled to.

*Smart Money People commissioned One Poll to survey 2,000 UK adults between 30 May and 10 June 2025. 1000 respondents had experienced situations in the past five years which would make them vulnerable by the FCA’s definition.