A few weeks ago, one of my team called me about a case that didn’t feel quite right. On the surface of it, everything looked in order. The affordability checks were fine and there was no specific concern raised by the broker. But digging a little deeper, there was something in the borrower’s behaviour that felt a little off. Some short answers with a touch of hesitation. A couple of comments that didn’t quite match the story in our notes.
It turned out the applicant was in the early stages of leaving an abusive relationship. Nothing had been disclosed, and the broker had no knowledge of this at the time. Looking back, if our team hadn’t been trained to recognise vulnerability, and if we hadn’t made it a priority to pause and check in, it could have easily slipped through unnoticed.
For me, it’s these kinds of moments that really stick with you. Because vulnerability doesn’t always come with a warning label, and in the intermediary space, that can make things complicated.
The blurry bit no one talks about
There will always be a crossover point in every case where the application moves from broker to lender, and responsibility isn’t always crystal clear. Technically, the broker is still accountable until completion. But what happens if something important shows up once the case hits our desk?
That’s the blurry bit. And too often, I think lenders fall into the trap of thinking it’s not our problem yet. That’s not something I agree with. And at Hinckley & Rugby, we don’t work that way. When a borrower is vulnerable, whether they realise it or not, the support they get from us matters just as much as what came before.
It’s not just about knowing what to do, it’s knowing when to act
We set up our internal training Academy with that in mind. We wanted everyone in the sales and intermediary teams to feel confident recognising vulnerability and flagging it, if needed. We also wanted to set up a process that supports the broker through it without throwing the whole case into chaos.
It’s certainly not about second-guessing the broker but more about working with them, especially in situations where the borrower might be reluctant to disclose everything up front. Vulnerability doesn’t always fit into a drop-down list. Sometimes, it’s just a sense that something’s not quite adding up.
We’ve built this into our weekly team huddles, so it’s not just a policy we file away, but something we openly keep talking about. It’s how we share the tougher cases and learn from each other.
Financial abuse, and other things that go unspoken
One area that’s started to come up more and more often, and I’ll be honest, it’s a hard one, is financial abuse. It’s subtle. Often hidden. And it can be incredibly difficult for borrowers to talk about, let alone prove.
We’re seeing more cases where something feels slightly out of sync. It could be a third-party pushing for decisions, documents being late or changed without clear explanation. It might be a borrower who seems rather unsure or withdrawn. Look, in some cases, it does turn out to be nothing. But in others, it’s something quite serious. And the only way we can make that distinction is by being alert and asking the right questions.
There isn’t always a neat answer. But ignoring it simply isn’t an option.
When in doubt, call us
I always tell brokers the same thing. If you’re not sure, or if something doesn’t feel right, pick up the phone. You don’t need to have all the answers. That’s what we’re here for.
Sometimes it’s just a quick gut check, while other times it’s a more complicated discussion about how to handle a client who’s hit a difficult patch during their application. Either way, we’ll talk it through. No judgment. Just two people trying to do right by the borrower.
It’s everyone’s responsibility, whether we like it or not
Vulnerability isn’t going away. If anything, it’s getting harder to spot. Life is more complicated and borrowers can be dealing with a lot behind the scenes. And the pressure to get the mortgage over the line can make the signs easy to miss.
As lenders, we have a choice. We can keep pretending that responsibility only kicks in after completion. Or we can be part of the solution much earlier in the process.
At Hinckley & Rugby, we’ve chosen the second path. And I’d much rather have one extra conversation, even if it leads nowhere, than look back at a case and wonder if we should have stepped in sooner.
