Am I a vulnerable customer?

In February 2015, the FCA published a Consumer Vulnerability Occasional Paper, in which a vulnerable customer was defined as:

‘…someone who due to their personal circumstances is especially susceptible to detriment particularly when a firm is not acting with appropriate levels of care.’

Customer vulnerability is defined as any personal, social or other factor(s) that may impact your ability to exercise informed decision making, rendering you vulnerable to suggestion and/or impacting your confidence to invest.

Below we have outlined a broad range of circumstances and situations including, but not limited to:

− Illness/Sickness – This could be due to a short-term condition or something of a longer term nature such as convalescing with medical conditions.

− Age – Our ever aging population means that elderly people are increasingly more inclined to invest for their future. However, with age also comes certain age related conditions which may impact your ability to invest confidently and appropriately. We would advise anyone over the age of 85 to contact us via email so we may assist with your application (see below).

− Physical Disability – The broad nature of disability encompasses a number of forms including but not limited to: deafness, blindness, and the restriction of limb use or mobility. All of which are factors which may impact your ability to invest through Property Moose.

− Bereavement – Loss of a partner, relative or close friend may temporarily render you susceptible or vulnerable, something which may impact rational decision making.

− Mental Capacity – This applies to customers who may suffer from any form of mental incapacity, which again may impact your ability to invest.

If you feel one of the above might be applicable, you should contact us by emailing [email protected] or calling us on 0207 022 0987 and a member of the team will be able to assist you with your investment journey.

For further details, please refer to the FCA’s Occasional Paper No.8 – Customer Vulnerability guidance document.