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Welcome to the Vulnerability Matters podcast from the Money Advice Trust. A series that examines from a range of perspectives how firms are supporting consumers in vulnerable situations.
91 Episodes
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Romanced by Prince William, Brad Pitt, and 100 different Keanu Reeves, Becky Holmes turned her lockdown hobby of "scamming the scammers" into a much deeper exploration of the multi-million pound romance fraud industry. Becky talks with Chris Fitch about fake oil rig workers, scammer compounds, and her book ‘Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You’.
linkedin.com/in/beckyholmeshatesspinach
x.com/deathtospinach
Half of UK adults have characteristics of vulnerability. This is the most quoted FCA statistic in history. But what does it mean? And does the debate surrounding it overshadow other FCA statistical gems we should know about too? Sarah Montgomery from the FCA reveals the hidden treasures of the Financial Lives Survey to Chris Fitch.
www.fca.org.uk/financial-lives
financiallivessurvey@fca.org.uk
https://www.linkedin.com/company/financial-conduct-authority
In our second ‘Vulnerability Voices’ instalment, Lindsey and Sage describe life as a customer with a conviction. They explain to Michael Hilton the barriers they have encountered when using essential services, and the ‘cloud’ of stigma following them from release to rehabilitation.
www.threehandsinsight.co.uk
www.linkedin.com/in/michael-hilton-39b02310a
Instinctively, as a society, we condemn those who abuse an older person’s trust and finances. But today’s guest, Richard Robinson (from the Hourglass charity) contends that such a moral response comes too late. Instead, what would be more valuable than the condemnation of such economic abuse, would be its prevention. So how can charities like Hourglass not only respond, but also prevent older peoples’ economic abuse? What can essential service firms realistically do? And is it really true that unchecked, economic abuse can literally shorten the life of an older person?
https://www.wearehourglass.org/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-r-7836b929/
Chris Fitch speaks with mother and daughter, Lin and Lou Baxter, about how one phone call turned into a scam worth thousands. Through their eyes, Lin shows that it was not the lost money that shook her most, but the interactions with her bank that followed. And the twist in the tail? Lou leads the National Trading Standards Scams Team, showing that anyone – even where fraud is in the family (in the right way) - can be affected like this.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-baxter-mbe-77194337/
https://www.nationaltradingstandards.uk/work-areas/scams-team/
https://moneyadvicetrust.org/training-and-consultancy/vulnerability-academy?utm_source=academy&utm_medium=redirect
Chris Fitch speaks to one of the UK’s most notorious scammers: Alex Wood. Over the course of a decade, Alex stole millions of pounds from scamming, but now works to prevent it. In this episode, Alex talks about the psychology of scammers, how they engineer trust, and how they protect themselves by creating emotional distance from their victims.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002h2gt
https://www.linkedin.com/in/beatfraud/
https://moneyadvicetrust.org/training-and-consultancy/vulnerability-public-sessions/#outcomes-and-vulnerability
In our new feature ‘Vulnerability Voices’, we’ll be hearing directly from customers about their lives, circumstances, and interactions with essential services. Today, Anne and Robert explain to Michael Hilton from Three Hands Insight how serious illness has reshaped their personal and financial lives.
Why are outcomes so ‘hard’ to get right? David Atkins (formerly Lloyds Banking Group co-lead on vulnerability and inclusion) explains to Chris Fitch what an outcome is (and isn’t), why we all struggle to define and measure them, and how a new approach promises to make the whole process simpler, clearer, and more effective. Taking us from ‘too hard’ to giving us ‘new hope’, David demystifies an issue which has previously tied many of us up in knots.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-atkins-spenkins/
www.moneyadvicetrust.org/vulnerability
The ‘Purple Pound’ measures the potential spending power of households with at least one disabled person. Reported to be worth £274 billion per year to the UK economy in 2017, new data values it at £446bn. Mike Adams (CEO of disability organisation Purple) and Jamie Evans (Research Fellow, Bristol University) join us to discuss what the Purple Pound is, whether it really is worth this much, and just what a “purchasing power” figure like this means when so many disabled people are reporting everyday financial difficulty?
Mike Adams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-adams-purple/
Jamie Evans: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-evans-387485120/
Purple Tuesday: https://purpletuesday.co/
Help! Guide: https://www.moneyadvicetrust.org/vulnerability-resources
‘Financial wellbeing’ is a term that many use, but most never dare define. However, Professor Adele Atkinson (Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management, Birmingham University) not only defines what ‘financial wellbeing’ means, but explains how its key elements affect our everyday thinking and behaviour.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adele-atkinson-afrap/
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/centres-institutes/household-assets-and-savings-managementerstestiftung.org
Starting a Champion Networks sounds simple. However, they’re harder to start and sustain than we think. In this episode, Charlie Turrell from the Ministry of Justice and the Champions of Accessibility Network joins Chris Fitch to share what makes a Network ‘work’, why so many crash and burn, and how the secret to their success might just be good old-fashioned ‘fun’.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-turrell
https://ab11y.com
What happens when lived experience shared online becomes advice that lacks evidence? In this episode, Matt Gupwell, founder of ThinkNeurodiversity, joins Chris Fitch to unpack the rise of vulnerability and neuro-influencers, challenge recycled myths, and explain why re-balancing lived experience with research is essential for preventing harm.
https://www.thinkneurodiversity.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattgupwell/
What does it mean to design a service, product, or even a letter in a ‘trauma-informed’ way? Content designer Rachel Edwards explains to Chris Fitch what trauma is (and isn’t), how it affects peoples’ everyday lives, and how six principles can turn any design into a ‘trauma-informed 'design.
https://www.designedwithcare.org/
In this Season 4 opener, we look at cryptocurrency and gambling. Unpacking its rise and effects are Raminta Diliso (GamCare Financial Harm Project) and Jason (who shares his experience of the impact and loopholes that crypto introduced to his gambling), with Chris Fitch asking the key question: what, if anything, can financial service and other firms do to tackle this?
https://www.gamcare.org.uk/outreach-and-training/gambling-related-financial-harm/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramintad/
In her final lecture, Elizabeth focuses on the power of listening. Identifying this not only as an individual human skill we all need to develop, but also as the core of an effective organisational strategy on vulnerability and inclusion, Elizabeth introduces different ways of listening for our organisation to connect, prevent harm, and deliver change.
LINKS:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethblakelock/
In her second lecture, Elizabeth explores whether concepts like fairness, equity, diversity, and inclusion can really help organisations measure and improve customer outcomes. Explaining why it is critical to go beyond surface-level metrics, Elizabeth identifies how we can identify hidden harms, and the role of disaggregated data in understanding who benefits - and who is being left behind.
LINKS:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethblakelock/
In her first of three lectures, Elizabeth enters the world of the ‘Inclusion Allies’ – the people, networks, and groups who can help us build inclusion from within. Examining how such relationships can drive powerful change, Elizabeth outlines the practical steps needed to draw on lived experience from within organisations and sectors, and how such connections are essential to short and long-term impact.
LINKS:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethblakelock/
Can Ofgem’s 2025 Consumer Vulnerability Strategy really lead to better services? Just what is new about it? And how will it meet an army of challenges ranging from net-zero to the cost of living to market reform? Beth Martin (Director, Consumer Protection and Competition) lights up the strategy, explains how Ofgem will hold “firms’ feet to the fire” to deliver it, and outlines the everyday differences that consumers will notice.
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/Final%20CVS%2015042025-20250414111309.pdf
In this bonus episode, Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs returns to explore the newly released 2025 Financial Abuse Code from UK Finance. Building on a decade of development, the Code outlines seven pillars for firms to better identify and support customers. But how well will it protect victim-survivors of economic abuse? Nicola explains all to Chris Fitch.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-nicola-sharp-jeffs-obe-cf-frsa-685a646/
https://allthingseconomicabuse.com/
https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/system/files/202504/Financial%20Abuse%20Code%20report.pdf
Nicola Sharp-Jeffs has been the UK’s leading voice on economic abuse over the last two decades, and is now bringing about change on the global stage. In her first public conversation since stepping down as CEO of the charity she founded, Surviving Economic Abuse, Nicola explains what economic abuse means to her, the policy milestones and practical mountains she has encountered, and just how all essential services – not just financial, but including energy to gas to telecommunication companies – can act to both change and save victim-survivors lives.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-nicola-sharp-jeffs-obe-cf-frsa-685a646
https://allthingseconomicabuse.com/
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