We provide customers with opportunities to borrow an affordable amount in a transparent, responsible and sustainable way.
Serving customers in a responsible way
We're in the business of providing flexible, responsible products, and services to suit our wide range of customers. Our customers typically earn the national average, work in skilled roles or managerial positions, but often have experienced a significant life event such as divorce, job loss or long-term illness, which may have caused financial difficulty.
These experiences can lead to damage on our customers credit files, meaning they are less likely to get credit, or be totally excluded from mainstream lenders. The products, services and partnerships we offer are designed to meet the specific needs of these customers. Our services can help people enter or re-enter the credit market, stay in control of their finances and build up their credit scores for the future. In the case of Moneybarn, where a vehicle is held as security, we can lend more credit for longer periods.
Supporting customers in vulnerable situations
We understand that our customers can find themselves, at times, in financially challenging situations due to unforeseen circumstances such as ill-health, loss of income, family bereavement, or other significant life events.
That's why we ensure our call centre colleagues are trained in recognising signs that might indicate a customer could be ‘vulnerable’ or may be facing financial difficulty, whether in the short or long term. Involving continuing to run a programme of work with the charity Surviving Economic Abuse to deliver training to frontline colleagues to build their capacity to recognise the signs of economic abuse.
Through the established relationships we have with organisations and charities, such as IncomeMax and the Money Advice Trust, we are able to provide training to help colleagues communicate more effectively and to increase understanding of the UK welfare system. And we have partnered with PAPYRUS to help our colleagues better identify customers who are having thoughts of suicide. This training makes sure our colleagues respond empathetically and signpost customers to appropriate sources of support.
More generally, our call centre training and guidance is based around the customer protocol TEXAS (Thank, Explain, eXplicit consent, Ask and Signpost), developed by the Money Advice Trust and Royal College of Psychiatrists. We also factor in guidance published by our regulators, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. In some cases, colleagues can offer customers forbearance options, such as breathing space or an adjustment to their repayment plans, so they can better manage their finances. In some cases, a decision may be taken to write the debt off.
Alongside equipping colleagues with the right skills to assist our customers, we have a long history of supporting a wide range of organisations in the money advice sector. Working with these organisations allows our customers to seek free or low-cost independent financial advice and support if they are facing financial hardship.
Maintaining customer satisfaction rates
One of the key performance indicators we track to determine whether we are providing our customers with products, services and partnerships that meet their particular needs is customer satisfaction.
Measuring this year on year also gives us some insight into where we can make improvements to our offerings so that we can continually meet or surpass customers’ expectations.
Here you'll find these rates for the year ending 31 December 2022:
Credit Cards
Customer satisfaction rates for 2021
(2021: 4.7/5)
Vehicle Finance
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