Blog
Addressing the £m risk of complaints firefighting
For banking and credit card organisations, rising complaint volumes are a warning on the cost of firefighting instead of addressing root causes, which is particularly risky in the context of Consumer Duty.
Rethinking complaints maturity as resolution times rise
FCA’s latest complaints data might seem like ‘more of the same’ at headline-level, but for banking and credit card organisations, rising resolution times and backlogs are piling on more handling costs, and increasing the risk of customer churn.
Price Cap falls again to £1,568 - and more changes are coming
Ofgem’s headline Price Cap has decreased by £122 (7%) in today’s announcement (24 May), falling to its lowest level since October 2021, at £1,568 for a typical Direct Debit customer. However, we know this isn’t a real bill value that customers experience.
Heat pumps drive cheaper bills, but costs per kWh are higher
Our visual demonstrates the real cost of switching from gas boiler to heat pump.
Suppliers can realise potential of dynamic tariffs with customer clarity
Is your understanding of customer segments deep enough to realise the true impact of dynamic pricing, and innovative tariffs? We show where the opportunities lie here.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast” - and transformation for lunch
Peter Drucker's famous quote reminds us that no matter how detailed and solid a strategy is, when it comes down to it, the teams implementing the plan are the ones that make all the difference.
Winter Preparedness - Is it time for a Debt Health Check?
Given the £bn increases in unsecured debt and Direct Debit failures over the past year, suppliers have an opportunity to re-assess how they're set up to deliver customer outcomes. Leveraging this understanding is key to take control in such a challenging macro environment - see how improvements can be brought to life in this blog.
Watch: Why bad debt is an emerging concern
Falling energy prices are welcome news, but there's an emerging concern for suppliers, surrounding their approach to forecasting bad debt as market conditions change. In this video, Rachel Littlewood shares lessons from the front line to help you recognise potential cashflow challenges.
Consumer inflation was greater, later and longer-lasting than figures suggest
Official inflation figures aren’t fully reflective of how energy bills impact some consumers based on when they use energy, and how they pay – we’ve crunched the numbers. By adjusting the CPI to account for real changes during the energy crisis, we show when the real peak was likely to be, why this varies by payment method, and how this lines up with recent debt trends.
Vulnerability: Call to design for outcomes, not products
With the FCA's vulnerability review underway, firms should be assessing their ability to evidence the delivery of good customer outcomes. And product design is one area we feel this is often overlooked. The FCA have clearly stated proactivity is crucial, and we've already seen the successes of firms who've prioritised vulnerability in the early stages of design.
Closed Products – Firms must be ready for increased scrutiny
It's just over three months until the FCA's Closed Products deadline passes - Consumer Duty's final milestone. Firms should expect pressure to ramp up on evidencing compliance, across all areas of the Duty. It's critical to know which levers to pull in the build-up to reduce risk, which you'll find in this blog.
FCA's Financial Lives report reiterates need for proactivity
We've seen cautious optimism surrounding the FCA's latest Financial Lives report. But there's a lot to be said about how customers are perceiving the outcomes of financial support - particularly with the FCA circling on how firms are treating vulnerable segments.
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