Context
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has an ambitious ten-year strategy to improve financial wellbeing across the UK. One of its five goals is to provide better debt advice. Debt advice is available in many different forms and provides practical and emotional support to those struggling with their debts, yet far too few seek help, wait a long time to reach out or drop out of services. Changes in the societal and economic situation are having a direct impact on the financial wellbeing of people in the UK, leading to increasing numbers of people who may benefit from debt advice. MaPS needs to better understand the barriers and drivers to people accessing debt advice and how MaPS might assist in the development of solutions to help people overcome these barriers, particularly the most vulnerable, through future commissioning. The goal of the research was to better understand the needs of possible debt advice customers, particularly the most vulnerable, and inform the requirements for future commissioning.
The study
The study used a mixed methods approach, with an exploratory phase to understand the problem and a development phase to analyse and come up with recommendations.
Specifically the research included:
Phase one: understanding the problem
- Literature review: of behavioural science and industry evidence on barriers and drivers to seeking debt advice
- Behavioural surveys: quantitative survey with people in need of debt advice (n=1,003) and advisers and stakeholders (n=117) on barriers to seeking debt advice
- Qualitative discovery interviews: in depth discussion of barriers with people in need of debt advice (n=24), including vulnerable, and advisers and stakeholders (n=10).
Phase two: developing recommendations
- Simulation concept testing experiment: scenario-based experiment to test two solution concepts with people experiencing financial difficulties (n=1,507)
- Qualitative ideas interview: in depth discussion of possible solutions with people in need of debt advice (n=12), and advisers and stakeholders (n=6)
The research was conducted for MaPS by behavioural and social research consultancies Cogco and the Common Collective.
Key findings
Overall, the research found the following:
- People who need debt advice and do not receive it are divided into two groups: People that need debt advice but do not try to get it, and people that need debt advice, try to get it but do not receive it. The latter group are further divided into those who tried to get advice and were unsuccessful and those who start the process but disengaged before receiving a solution.
- The research found ten steps in the common user journey of the groups above. The journey is divided into two distinct stages: pre-debt advice and seeking debt advice. People regularly move up and down the steps, making progress and then falling back, or dropping out altogether before seeking advice.
- The research identified 11 barriers to seeking debt advice, some of which affect every element of the journey, some of which are amplified for vulnerable people and some which only affect motivation at some of the steps of the journey to seek debt advice.
- The researcher made nine recommendations for how to address the barriers including steps such as reframing the advice in terms of financial wellbeing, making the journey flexible and simplifying the process.
Points to consider
-
Methodological limitations: No details were given about the source for the participants, so it is hard to know whether they are representative of people who need debt advice, or of a typical group of advisors. The sample size for the concept testing phase was not large enough to test the four potential concepts that had been developed, so only two were tested. Despite this, the results showed a significant uplift in both conditions as compared to a control which enabled the researchers to make some overarching recommendations.
-
Relevance: Highly relevant given the cost-of-living crisis and the likelihood of more people falling into debt.
-
Generalisability/ transferability: Despite not knowing exactly how the participants were sourced, it is likely that the feelings about debt and seeking advice that were uncovered will be widely felt by people in many markets and cultures.
-
Applicability: Of interest to debt advice organisations, policymakers, service providers and any stakeholders interested in how to refer customers more effectively to debt advice.
