What is ‘intelligibility’?
Something which is “able to be understood by the target audience, including the context and the consequences of the information to the reader.”
Definition as per the new Consumer Duty, 2023.
What does ‘intelligibility’ mean?
The word intelligibility is (ironically) not easily understood.
The real definition of intelligibility is defined in legislation and in case law from the European Court of Justice (CJEU). It is information (written or spoken) “being capable of being understood” by an ‘average’ consumer.
According to the CMA’s Unfair Contract Terms guidance: “The CJEU has explained that the requirement of plainness and intelligibility means that the term should not only make grammatical sense to the average consumer but must put the consumer into the position of being able to ‘evaluate, on the basis of clear, intelligible criteria, the economic consequences for him which derive from it [the term’].”
But how do you know if your particular documents are intelligible? And how can you check this, on a large scale, in a reasonable timeframe?
Regulatory definition:
(1) A firm must support retail customer understanding so that its communications:
(a) meet the information needs of retail customers;
(b) are likely to be understood by retail customers; and
(c) equip retail customers to make decisions that are effective, timely and properly informed.
FCA Consumer Duty. Regulation 2A.5.3
A new standard for intelligibility.
Despite its long-standing place in consumer law, there is relatively little guidance available on how to achieve intelligibility or measure it.
Amplifi is on a mission to fill this void by developing an Intelligibility Standard.
Unlike traditional language and grammar tools, our intelligibility assessment tool focuses beyond readability (or how easy it is to read the text). We also consider how easy it is to process and absorb the text’s key messages, based on the latest pioneering research.
We will look to collaborate with other stakeholders to understand their views and insights on this new standard, eventually making the model public for all to benefit from.
The potential benefits are enormous. Ensuring that organisations and consumers are on the same page early on in the contractual relationship means fewer conflicts and headaches, improved customer service ratings, and increased staff efficiency (to name a few business-focused examples).
We will continue to update this website with the latest news as our work progresses.