FCA debt collection rules - how to show fair treatment in every customer interaction

The FCA’s focus on Consumer Duty has sharpened the spotlight on collections. It’s no longer enough to say you treat customers fairly or aim for beneficial outcomes. You need to be able to show it in every decision, every workflow, and every interaction.

For financial businesses and collections teams, this means combining customer-centric practices with technology that can document and prove compliance in real time. Here’s how you can make it happen.

Segment customers based on risk

Fair treatment starts with understanding that no two customers are alike. A single rule applied across all accounts won’t cut it. You need to be able to provide beneficial outcomes for each individual customer without compromising on overall efficiency. 

Integrating a decisioning solution provides you with the ability to:

• Use behavioral and financial data to identify vulnerable customers earlier
• Prioritize accounts at higher risk of default for proactive outreach
• Create tailored strategies that reflect individual financial situations

For example, one customer who has temporarily missed a payment may only need a gentle nudge via SMS, while another showing clear signs of long-term distress might require a modified repayment plan. Segmentation ensures you deliver the right support without overburdening your team or missing key risk signals.

Personalize communications without extra effort

Treating customers fairly and helping them achieve beneficial outcomes means you need to engage them in ways they can understand and act on. Configurable systems give you the ability to:

• Match tone and content to the customer’s preferences
• Deliver communications across their chosen channels
• Offer self-service and digital options to reduce stress and friction

For example, some customers may prefer a payment reminder by email, while others engage more frequently with app notifications or text messages. By personalizing contact methods, you increase engagement and repayment rates while demonstrating fairness and respect.

Automate workflows while keeping them flexible

Legacy processes rely on manual interventions that slow down response times and increase the risk of error. This makes it far more difficult to maintain operational efficiency, especially when trying to personalize treatment paths for each individual customer.

Configurable solutions replace this with workflows that are automated and adaptable. These workflows can:

• Trigger personalized outreach paths depending on payment history
• Route vulnerable customers directly to specialists
• Adjust communication channels in line with individual preferences
• Build in compliance checkpoints so every step meets regulatory standards

Imagine a scenario where a customer indicates financial hardship during a call. A sophisticated system can immediately flag vulnerability, adjust the workflow to reflect FCA guidance, and document the interaction for audit purposes. That’s compliance, consistency, and compassion all in one move so that you can help people reach financial stability.

Capture evidence at every step

The FCA is crystal clear on the importance of your ability to provide beneficial outcomes for customers, but you need to be able to clearly demonstrate how you got there. If an audit takes place and you can’t demonstrate your beneficial customer journey, it might as well not exist in the context of compliance. 

Dynamic decisioning solutions make this easier by:

• Keeping audit trails of every interaction, adjustment, and decision
• Linking outcomes directly to strategies and workflows
• Offering dashboards showing performance and compliance metrics

Firstly, this makes it easier to pass regulatory scrutiny, and secondly, it also helps your team refine strategies based on evidence. Each time you improve customer outcomes in measurable ways, you're training your system through data to be better prepared for more customers. 

Be confident with your compliance

The FCA demands clear evidence that you treat vulnerable customers with fairness and care. That’s why configurable solutions are so valuable. They give you the agility to adapt, the visibility to prove your actions, and the tools to treat customers in a way that builds trust and loyalty.

At C&R Software, that’s exactly what we’ve built into Debt Manager and FitLogic. Debt Manager’s configurable workflows and segmentation capabilities let you adapt treatment paths for every customer, while FitLogic’s decisioning power helps you spot vulnerability earlier and simulate strategies before they go live.

Together, they give you the confidence to face increased FCA scrutiny and the ability to show, in every interaction. To find out more, contact us at inquiries@crsoftware.com.