Understanding and protecting vulnerable financial consumers

This article considers how consumer protection law and policy should address the interests of particularly vulnerable financial consumers. Specifically, the article proposes a taxonomy of vulnerability which helps to identify (a) what makes consumers particularly vulnerable, and (b) how consumer pro...

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Main Author: Cartwright, Peter
Format: Article
Published: Springer Verlag 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33168/
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author Cartwright, Peter
author_facet Cartwright, Peter
author_sort Cartwright, Peter
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description This article considers how consumer protection law and policy should address the interests of particularly vulnerable financial consumers. Specifically, the article proposes a taxonomy of vulnerability which helps to identify (a) what makes consumers particularly vulnerable, and (b) how consumer protection law and consumer policy (broadly understood) can respond to these causes in a way that provides such consumers with appropriate protection. Changes to economic conditions, legal requirements on traders and our understanding of consumer behaviour make discussion of these issues particularly topical. There is little doubt that finding solutions is extremely difficult. Trade-offs are necessary and some enduring factors that contribute to vulnerability, in particular poverty, sometimes appear intractable. Nevertheless, it is submitted that by identifying clearly both why consumers are vulnerable and how the factors that lead to such vulnerability can be addressed, it is possible to construct an environment which respects consumer choice while ensuring that the most vulnerable are protected appropriately.
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spelling nottingham-331682020-05-04T17:09:27Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33168/ Understanding and protecting vulnerable financial consumers Cartwright, Peter This article considers how consumer protection law and policy should address the interests of particularly vulnerable financial consumers. Specifically, the article proposes a taxonomy of vulnerability which helps to identify (a) what makes consumers particularly vulnerable, and (b) how consumer protection law and consumer policy (broadly understood) can respond to these causes in a way that provides such consumers with appropriate protection. Changes to economic conditions, legal requirements on traders and our understanding of consumer behaviour make discussion of these issues particularly topical. There is little doubt that finding solutions is extremely difficult. Trade-offs are necessary and some enduring factors that contribute to vulnerability, in particular poverty, sometimes appear intractable. Nevertheless, it is submitted that by identifying clearly both why consumers are vulnerable and how the factors that lead to such vulnerability can be addressed, it is possible to construct an environment which respects consumer choice while ensuring that the most vulnerable are protected appropriately. Springer Verlag 2015-06-30 Article PeerReviewed Cartwright, Peter (2015) Understanding and protecting vulnerable financial consumers. Journal of Consumer Policy, 38 (2). pp. 119-138. ISSN 1573-0700 Consumer protection Vulnerability Regulation Consumer policy http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10603-014-9278-9 doi:10.1007/s10603-014-9278-9 doi:10.1007/s10603-014-9278-9
spellingShingle Consumer protection
Vulnerability
Regulation
Consumer policy
Cartwright, Peter
Understanding and protecting vulnerable financial consumers
title Understanding and protecting vulnerable financial consumers
title_full Understanding and protecting vulnerable financial consumers
title_fullStr Understanding and protecting vulnerable financial consumers
title_full_unstemmed Understanding and protecting vulnerable financial consumers
title_short Understanding and protecting vulnerable financial consumers
title_sort understanding and protecting vulnerable financial consumers
topic Consumer protection
Vulnerability
Regulation
Consumer policy
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33168/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33168/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33168/