By Steve Conley – Get SAFE (Support After Financial Exploitation) There is a moment, rarely spoken about, that sits quietly at the edge of financial harm. It is not the moment of loss.Not the complaint.Not even the rejection. It is the moment when a person concludes: “There is nowhere left to turn.” From that point … Continue reading When the System Falls Silent: What Hunger Strikes Teach Us About Supporting Victims of Financial Exploitation
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The Return of Agency: How AI Changes the Balance of Power in Financial Services
Last summer, the UK Supreme Court confirmed something many in the industry had long argued for: Credit brokers do not owe a fiduciary duty to their customers. For some, that was a legal clarification.For others, it was a line in the sand. Because stripped back to its essence, the ruling reinforced a simple reality: The … Continue reading The Return of Agency: How AI Changes the Balance of Power in Financial Services
Another Redress Scheme, Another Compromise: When Justice Becomes a Calculation
The UK’s financial watchdog has drawn a clear line in the sand. Consumers who pursue car finance claims through the courts may be excluded from the Financial Conduct Authority’s £9.1bn redress scheme. The message is unmistakable: accept the scheme, or take your chances elsewhere. [Source: Financial Times | Go to court and lose out on … Continue reading Another Redress Scheme, Another Compromise: When Justice Becomes a Calculation
Another SIPP Firm Declared in Default — But the Real Failure Happened Years Earlier
By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning The declaration that Heritage Pensions has been placed “in default” by the FSCS will be presented, in many quarters, as closure. A line drawn.A system working as intended.A safety net doing its job. But for those living with the consequences, this is not closure. It is confirmation. … Continue reading Another SIPP Firm Declared in Default — But the Real Failure Happened Years Earlier
When Justice Doesn’t Come: The Hidden Identity Crisis Behind Financial Harm
Not everyone who loses money loses their life. But some do. Not because of the money. Because they cannot find a way to live as the person they have become. The Loss No One Sees When people experience financial harm—especially through betrayal, mis-selling, or institutional failure—the visible loss is measured in pounds. But beneath that … Continue reading When Justice Doesn’t Come: The Hidden Identity Crisis Behind Financial Harm
Why Financial Harm Keeps Happening — and What People Can Do Before It Does
A new report published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services has triggered an important national conversation. The report — “Why Our Financial Conduct Regulation Needs Reforming” — brings together years of evidence suggesting that the UK’s financial conduct regulation system may not be working as well as it … Continue reading Why Financial Harm Keeps Happening — and What People Can Do Before It Does
When You’re Desperate for Answers, the Rabbit Hole Can Look Like Rescue
A Get SAFE guide for people under financial threat If you are facing enforcement, eviction, debt, or court action, your nervous system is not in “research mode”. It is in survival mode. Your brain is scanning for certainty, control, and a way to make the threat stop. That is not weakness. That is biology. And … Continue reading When You’re Desperate for Answers, the Rabbit Hole Can Look Like Rescue
When the System Defends Itself
A survival guide for citizen advocates who can’t switch their minds off If you’re reading this at night, wide awake, replaying exchanges with regulators, professionals, or officials who seem calm while people are being harmed — you’re not alone. Many citizen advocates, Transparency Task Force members, and victim supporters describe the same experience: “I can’t … Continue reading When the System Defends Itself
Lessons for Citizen Investigators: What the Psychology of Scams Really Teaches Us
Why understanding harm matters more than spotting tricks. In 2009, the Office of Fair Trading commissioned a major piece of research into the psychology of scams. It was rigorous, humane, and ahead of its time. It also quietly disappeared. Not because it was wrong — but because it was inconvenient. For anyone involved in Get … Continue reading Lessons for Citizen Investigators: What the Psychology of Scams Really Teaches Us
“I Didn’t Have a Mental Health Problem. I Had a Lloyds Problem.”
There is a crucial truth that almost no safeguarding framework, regulator, or victim support service is willing to name. Most victims of financial wrongdoing do not develop suicidal thoughts because they are mentally ill. They develop them because they are being actively crushed by an unresolved injustice that will not stop. As one survivor put … Continue reading “I Didn’t Have a Mental Health Problem. I Had a Lloyds Problem.”
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