Five practical ways to support the ‘squeezed middle’ and vulnerable customers who just miss out on help

Customer support teams across the UK’s utility companies, councils, and financial services are doing more than ever to support vulnerable customers.

But every day, agents still speak with people who are falling through the cracks – families who just miss out on eligibility for support, or who are still struggling despite being on discounted tariffs.

Those customers who just miss out are often known as the ‘squeezed middle’ or the ‘precarious middle’ – households that with very careful budgeting are just managing to stay afloat, but at a real cost. With a substantially lower food budget, rationed heating and water, and nothing left for unexpected costs. They often just miss out on Universal Credit.

As one contact centre agent put it:

“It’s almost like saying, if you were just a bit worse off, or not quite as good at budgeting, we could do more – which is a really tough conversation to have.”

Similarly, those who are already on discounted tariffs but are still struggling with arrears make for another conundrum. Someone in a negative budget is only going to get deeper in debt. The earlier you can support them, the more chance of avoiding a crisis like homelessness. But at this stage you need to offer targeted support to the underlying cause of the debt. 

This post offers 5 customer care strategies that support teams can implement to better help these at-risk customers.

1. Offer school uniform vouchers during back-to-school season

Why it matters: Between May and July, many families face the pressure of buying new school uniforms. It’s a peak time for extra financial strain and something we often get asked about by customers. According to Department for Education figures in 2025 the average cost of a school uniform was just over £340 for primary school children and around £454 for those in secondary education. For households with multipe children, this adds up fast.

Action idea: Councils, water companies, or energy providers can partner with local schools or major uniform retailers to offer discounts or vouchers to low-income households with school aged children – even those not qualifying for formal support schemes.

2. Expand discounts for single adult and single parent households

The problem: According to Citizens Advice, single adult or single parent households are nearly three times more likely to be in a negative budget each month than dual-adult households.

What’s already happening:

• Councils offer a 25% single occupier Council Tax discount.
• Some water providers offer reduced tariffs or metered billing.

Opportunity: If you’re a water company, energy provider or telecoms – consider how you could recognise the unique financial pressures of single-adult households and offer automatic or easy-to-access discounts.

3. Write off bills for households facing terminal illness

Why this matters: No one should have to worry about utility bills during the most difficult time of their life.

What to do: If a customer discloses that someone in their household is terminally ill, consider a compassionate write-off of their arrears or bills. Give them one less thing to worry about during the worst time imaginable.

Even if you don’t want to advertise this publicly, you can still proactively apply it when a customer shares the information with you.

4. Refer customers to tailored support services

How it helps: Sometimes the best support isn’t financial – it’s specialist, personalised guidance.

Create pathways and partnerships to:

• Debt advice services
• Benefits calculators
• Bereavement and mental health support
• Addiction recovery and wellbeing programmes

A well-timed referral builds trust and gives customers real tools to take control of their situation.

5. Incentivise financial education and debt support

The issue: Similar to point 4 – many customers want to repay debts but feel overwhelmed. People tell us they don’t know where to start or how to prioritise multiple debts. When you’re already only just getting by, keeping up with repayments can feel impossible.

Solution:
Offer voucher incentives or matched repayments for customers who complete financial education or debt advice programmes. It can help people stay on track, knowing there’s an additional benefit to paying and can help prevent escalation to debt collection.

How to identify struggling customers who don’t call you

The truth is that even though your customer contact teams are speaking to people every day who need help, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Most customers aren’t picking up the phone to tell you they’re struggling. According to the Financial Lives survey up to 46% of UK adults could be classed as vulnerable according to the FCA definition.

A digital tool like a wellbeing check can identify those struggling in silence by asking customers simple, yes/no questions about their financial, mental, and physical wellbeing. For example, if you can see that customer has disclosed a terminal illness via a wellbeing form -you can discreetly reach out and offer them additional help or share that you’ve wiped their arrears.

 You can also easily and at scale offer direct referrals to relevant support mentioned in point 4. Our wellbeing index shows the kind of vulnerabilities people will disclose, which they might not feel comfortable telling a person over the phone – 39% who’ve completed a wellbeing check have recently had suicidal thoughts, 8.5% have experienced domestic abuse, 8.4% would say they have a gambling addiction.

Final thought: eligibility to empathy

Eligibility criteria are important. But support rooted in empathy, flexibility and forward-thinking partnerships is key to supporting those currently missing out on help or falling deeper into debt. Considering points of the year when customers may be under increased financial strain, or demographics who may be more likely to be in financial difficulty, allows you to create practical support measures that truly make a difference.  

Want to learn how TellJO can help your organisation support those struggling in silence? Get in touch today.