Thoughts on the Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2024
10th October 2024 13:26
Article written by Ali Sims, Research Director and Vulnerability Lead.
Last month I attended the Utility Week Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2024 and so much of what the speakers had to say struck a chord. Here are a few highlights and my thoughts on what the topics raised mean for the sector.
Experian kicked off the conference with some hard-hitting facts:
- Of the 45 million adults in the UK, 4.1 million are in arrears and 2.9 million are in arrears on paying for essentials such as water, energy or telecoms
- 42% of people with poor mental health find dealing with customer services on the phone confusing or difficult *
- 25% of people with hearing/visual impairments struggle to follow instructions making it harder to interact with service providers **
- 73% of disabled people have delayed contacting a service provider due to feeling daunted by the process (this audience is almost twice as likely to have a debt with a utility).
In addition, the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute quoted that 23% of UK adults suffer when dealing with service providers and gave the example that many prefer to wait for their TV to come back on than call customer services.
Indeed, in a recent survey using our vulnerability panel, Different Perspectives, we found that only a quarter of customers in economic hardship** have ever contacted their water company (25%) or energy company (27%) to seek advice or support with their bill. Could some of the factors highlighted by Experian be at play?
Carolyn Delehanty went on to present some findings from research undertaken for Scottish and Southern Networks (SSEN), which uncovered barriers to not registering for the Priority Services Register (PSR). This includes:
- Lack of awareness of the PSR or SSEN
- Confusion about which PSR they are on - e.g. energy retailer, distributor, water etc.
- They thought they were ineligible
- They thought they had to pay for it
- It takes a long time to sign up for it
- They thought they couldn’t sign up their loved one on their behalf
- They thought they were removing resources from those needing it more
Lack of awareness certainly came up as a barrier in our recent survey, as did the response ‘I don’t need it’. This was quoted by almost half of those who say they are significantly impacted by a disability.
Another barrier is lack of trust. We have found that 59% of those who have sought support with their bill from their water company trust them, compared to a trust level of just 31% amongst those who say they would not seek support with their bills from their water provider.
We have also found trust in banks to be significantly higher than for utilities. This correlates with July’s UK Customer Satisfaction Index*** where 4 of the top 10 performing companies were banks or building societies. Why is it that the banking service is doing better? Is it the way the two sectors are portrayed in the media? How much does media coverage influence perceptions? This is something we are excited to be exploring in an upcoming survey.
We’ve talked about the barriers to signing up to the Priority Services Register, but what about once they’ve signed up? During the conference Speaker Jan Levy, held a virtual customer forum with a small number of his Lived Experts. One lady, Lorraine, expected confirmation she was now on the register and a different level of service upon signing up. This has not happened. Do expectations need managing or can more be done to make those on the PSR feel that they are receiving an elevated level of service such as a dedicated line? Another customer, Steven, talked about how his water company contact him every couple of years to see if he still needs to be on the register. However, they don’t ask him if his condition has worsened and how this can be accommodated. Can companies make more of this touch point?
Other papers explored the financial impact to customers of net zero. Not only is money a barrier to home improvements to improve EPC ratings, but so is awareness; Kerry Nicholaides from Sopra Steriaquoted 70% of home owners as unaware of the minimum EPC requirement by 2035 and 64% unaware of what EPC is. Matt White of UKPN talked about how the company is working closely with communities to deliver an inclusive net zero and Nicki Johnson from National Grid also talked about the power of partnerships in supporting those in fuel poverty and the company’s successful partnership with Warm Welcome. Now I’d not heard of Warm Welcome, but they have over 4,000 spaces across the UK for those seeking warmth and/or social interaction. Indeed, as David Barclay, Campaign Director at Warm Welcome says: “People come for the warmth but stay for the welcome.”
Finally, I was pleased to see the theme of testing products, propositions and communications with customers running throughout the day.
If you’d like to discuss any of the themes explored in this article, or to receive a free infographic summary of highlights from a recent Different Perspectives survey, which explores awareness, uptake and trust in support from energy and water companies, please contact me, Ali Sims, at asims@djsresearch.com.
And to find out how our Different Perspectives panel could help your organisation better understand the needs of people in vulnerable circumstances, please contact our panel team at DifferentPerspectives@djsresearch.com.
* Financial Conduct Authority – Financial Lives Survey
** Those who consider themselves to be in economic hardship and /or those with household incomes under £21k
*** Which companies have the best customer service? This is Money. www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-13611795/Which-companies-best-customer-service-Survey-shows-10-firms-par.html
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