Consumer duty and vulnerable customers – FCA’s push for plain English information
Thursday, 10 November 2022
In a big win for you, the consumer, the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) has set out further legislation to protect customers – including protection against misinformation and unclear language. They’ve pledged to push firms to ‘act to deliver good outcomes for customers’.
Over the next 12 months, new ‘consumer duty’ rules will be imposed that will further prevent firms from misleading customers. This is very important news at any time – especially so during a cost-of-living crisis, when money is tight, and the need for clarity has never been greater.
So, soon enough, it’ll be much harder for firms to confuse you with badly written or baffling information. Central to the new legislation is the drive to improve ‘consumer understanding’.
As champions of clear information and consumer clarity, we naturally welcome such legislation. And of course, we’re more than happy to adopt such strict principles regarding our own conduct.
To blow our own trumpets, we’ve always done our best to keep things clear and simple, so everyone understands us. And we’ve never made a distinction between vulnerable customers and any other kind – to us, everyone is deserving of the clearest possible information.
But rest assured, we’ll continue to maintain our high standards and make sure you know exactly what you’re getting from us. Whether you’re looking to pay for some work to be edited, or you want to undertake one of our many training options, our communication will always be clear and unequivocal.
In summary: we both support and enthusiastically adopt the imminent FCA Consumer Duty and vulnerable customer measures, which will help everyone, especially those who need it the most.
We look forward to seeing all organisations using plain English to communicate with their customers.
And if you need help making your documents easier to understand – we can help.
Links to
editing services and
virtual in-house training
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The Internet Crystal Mark – why you need one
Monday, 11 April 2022
A website that puts obstacles in front of its audience is not doing its job properly. Get rid of any on your website, and get our Crystal Mark accreditation to boot.
Obviously, easy-to-understand text is very important. But what if that text is badly laid out, difficult to read or hard to find?
Our Internet Crystal Mark (ICM) review examines how well your website meets worldwide accessibility standards, and suggests improvements or changes needed.
Far too many websites look slick and expensive but don’t do what they’re supposed to. That’s not necessarily the fault of those writing the text or creating the website. There may be confusion about what works and what doesn’t. We know exactly what a well-functioning website looks like.
Our ICM review will show you where you've gone both right and wrong. We will point out technical problems but also offer a much broader sense of what your website is doing. You can see what you don't need to change as well as issues you may need to resolve. In other words: it's not a purely critical assessment by any means.
AS part of our ICM assessment, we consider the following.
Is there enough contrast between text and background? (A surprisingly common problem, even on websites that have obviously had a lot of time, money and effort spent on their design.)
How well does your website print? Does it include undesirable features, such as blank pages, or print items that are meaningless on paper, such as menu items?
Are there any technical problems with your site design, such as JavaScript problems?
Do you know when technology you use is likely to create problems on certain platforms (for instance Flash on mobiles)?
With an Internet Crystal Mark, you’ll know your message will reach your audience and they will know you value them enough to make things easy for them.
Please contact us for further details on 01663 744409, email tony.maher@plainenglish.co.uk or visit our website at www.plainenglish.co.uk.
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Online Plain English Diploma course
Monday, 13 December 2021
Until recently, the workshops for our diploma course were held in London and Manchester, so it wasn’t feasible for vast numbers of people to attend.
With the changes that have been made to people’s working arrangements, we’ve had to adapt. As a result, we’ve moved our diploma course online and can now offer it to more people than ever before. So, no matter where you are working, anywhere in the world, you can now enjoy our most popular course.
We run the first workshop online over two consecutive days. You then complete five assignments and email them over to us. We’ll mark and grade them and send them back to you.
You will also need to prepare a presentation, which you will deliver online to the rest of the group.
Don’t worry if you’re not sure about any of these details – we’re here to support you before, during and after the course.
Contact Terri Schabel on 01663 744409 or email terri.schabel@plainenglish.co.uk for more details.
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2021 plain English awards
Friday, 03 December 2021
You can view our plain English awards for 2021