The Advocacy Spotlight: Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS)

At Resolver, it’s our mission to help people advocate for themselves and their consumer rights, whether that’s providing our free complaint tool or creating free guides to a range of issues.

We also want to ensure that people are able to access the full range of help and support available to them. In the UK there are many incredible organizations and charities that exist solely to support consumers in getting fairer treatment – but we know that many people remain unaware of their important work.

In this article, the first in our Advocacy Spotlight series, we want to shine a light on the

the Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS), which provides a quiet but powerful form of protection for people experiencing a difficult period in their lives or who need accommodations and additional support from companies.

By offering a simple, one-time registration, the VRS can remind companies to treat people with extra care or sensitivity, and give people the dignity of being heard without being forced to account for painful circumstances every time they deal with a company or organisation.

We think that they are fantastic and want to ensure that as many people as possible are making use of the service – as well as push for more companies to sign up!

What is the Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS)?

The Vulnerability Registration Service is a not-for-profit organisation that maintains a central, independent register of people who self-identify as “vulnerable.”

The VRS gives individuals a single place to register their vulnerable status, so that any company or organisation which subscribes to the service can be alerted to their circumstances.

The aim of the VRS is two-fold: first, to ensure people are met with accommodations and understanding by companies and organisations. Second, to save them from having to explain themselves and their difficult circumstances over and over again.

Registration is free and entirely voluntary. People are able to register for as long as they need to and remove themselves from the register if and when their circumstances improve.

Who is “vulnerable,” and what kinds of circumstances qualify?

At the heart of VRS’s approach to vulnerability is that it must be defined by the individual themselves, not by a strict set of criteria.

VRS does not attempt to “validate” or medically assess vulnerability. Rather, the VRS understanding of vulnerability is broad, so that as many people as possible can benefit from their service.

It can be easy to overlook the fact that vulnerability is not necessarily a fixed condition. Whether you’ve just had a bereavement or undergone surgery, it can be transient and deeply personal. What might be manageable one month can become overwhelming the next.

There are all kinds of circumstances or conditions that might lead someone to register with VRS in order to request certain accommodations or simply more sensitivity from companies.

Mental or physical health issues, cognitive disorders, impairments or disabilities are certainly some key circumstances. But so are a whole range of others, such as major life events or changes like bereavement, becoming a caregiver, serious financial hardship, addiction, or other stress-inducing events which may lead to a reduced capacity to make decisions or manage affairs.

The register is also there for people who find themselves in situations of risk, such as financial abuse, identity fraud, exploitation, or being subject to coercion.

Because vulnerability can fluctuate, the VRS register is designed to be flexible: people can add or remove “flags” depending on their circumstances and review their registration over time.

Why VRS matters

Reducing repeated hard conversations

One of the main advantages of VRS is that it gives vulnerable people a single place to register, so they do not need to have difficult, emotionally draining conversations every time they deal with a new organisation.

Whether it’s a financial lender, creditor, utility company, or another service provider, once someone is on the register, any participating company will be alerted to their vulnerability. That way the person will be saved from the often gruelling process of having to explain their situation over and over again.

Better protection and fairer treatment

By alerting organisations to a customer’s vulnerabilities, VRS enables them to adapt how they communicate, offer services, or treat the person with more sensitivity, flexibility, and fairness.

In this way it also shifts some of the burden of advocating for their special requirements away from the individual and onto institutions: with a flag in place, those institutions are reminded to pay close attention to the way they are treating that person.

In some cases, lenders or creditors might offer adjusted repayment plans, more time, or additional support rather than aggressive debt collection.

For people at risk of identity fraud or financial abuse, VRS registration can act as a warning, making it harder for unauthorized applications for credit to succeed.

And for carers, legal guardians or anyone managing someone else’s affairs with power of attorney, you can register the person to ensure that this will be understood by any companies you need to communicate with on their behalf.

Supporting organisations to meet regulatory and ethical responsibilities

Whether it be lenders, utilities or financial service providers, any company who is signed up to VRS will benefit: by helping them identify vulnerable customers early and treat them appropriately, VRS ensures that companies meet ethical standards and regulatory expectations.

Because VRS is “decision-agnostic” (it doesn’t itself make decisions about a person’s eligibility for services), it simply flags vulnerability, allowing companies to apply their own policies but with awareness.

Limitations and what VRS is not

It’s important to understand what registering with VRS does not do:

Because registration is based on self-declaration, VRS does not validate or medically verify vulnerabilities.
It also does not override or replace a company’s own responsibility to treat vulnerable customers fairly. Rather, it acts as an additional tool for ensuring that codes of conduct are applied appropriately.
Depending on the organisation, participation in VRS is optional, so not all lenders or service providers will necessarily check the register.
VRS provides a “snapshot” of circumstances: in many cases, records may need to be updated or removed if vulnerability status changes.

Growing adoption

We think that VRS is a fantastic tool and want to add our voice to the push for it to be more widely adopted.

In 2024, TransUnion, a major credit-reporting agency, announced a partnership with VRS, allowing their clients to better understand consumer vulnerability and adapt services accordingly.

Local authorities are also beginning to collaborate with VRS. For instance, Kent County Council (KCC) has worked with VRS to alert service providers when residents are vulnerable, and helping to protect them against debt, financial exploitation, or inappropriate credit applications.

Some third-party service providers like debt-advice organisations list VRS registration as part of their process for supporting customers in hardship or mental distress, acknowledging that the register helps inform better treatment.

As more companies and organisations see the benefit of VRS for both consumer protection and regulatory compliance, we hope that it will become even more widely used across financial services, utilities, debt agencies, and beyond.

How to make use of this amazing tool

Registering with VRS is quick and easy. And so is managing and updating your status and situation. The Consumer Portal allows you to specify on different facets of your situation – using the flag-based system to highlight an average of 6+ areas of vulnerability.

If you’d like to register yourself, or your business, simply go to their homepage here.

If you have any thoughts on this topic, or any other consumer issues you would like us to cover, feel free to get in touch with us at support@resolver.co.uk.