Is your mortgage advisor giving you full and fair advice and meeting all the regulatrory requirements? Apparently not, according to Which?, who found that more than 90% of the mortgage advisers they tested provided shoddy advice.
It looks like you have to be careful who you chose to advise you on mortgages. The latest Which? report paints a damning picture of the poor quality of advice offered by almost all of the mortgage advisers they tested in an undercover probe.
Which? found that around 60% of the advisers tried to sell them mortgage protection insurance products, which may not have been in the best interest of the client, Some of the advisers even disregarded the stringent procedures laid down by the FSA.
Having a finance industry background, I’m not surprised by these findings. As the number of mortgage products has fallen and the property market has stalled, the mortgage market place has become extremely competitive. Many independent brokers are closing down as their business dries up.
In this harsh environment it seems that mortgage brokers and advisers will do whatever it takes to win your mortgage business, even if it means flouting regulations that could lose them their accreditation with the FSA.
This Which? report lifts the lid on some of the problems that are endemic in a struggling mortgage industry, however I know for a fact that there are many excellent mortgage advisers available who will do an excellent job for you.
Unfortunately this report shows that there are also many mortgage advisers who are to be avoided. As ever, word of mouth recommendation is probably the safest way of finding a mortgage adviser or broker who is to be trusted.
I have applied for a mortgage through WHICH mortgage advisers and am due to get an offer soon, all surveys done on the property and I have paid £299 of the fees to Which. I rang the adviser today and was told he no longer works for the company as they are winding down. I am terrified of not getting my mortgage through them as I have sold my own property and they are pushing for end August completion. WHICH are saying they will see existing applications through but don’t have as many staff.
Thank you for sharing this. I hope it all works out in the end.