Martin on GMTV today....

Bonniebanks

Agreed with most of the points today, as advisers we have been campaigning against direct to lender deals for at least 6 months as it makes a mockery of the whole of market service. I'm glad to say recently in the last 4 weeks these deals seem to be diminishing. This type of aggressive selling by the banks has actually backfired on them :T

With regards to a fee free service I'm all for it provided the mortgage is big enough which it is in London a £250000 mortgage would pay £875 which is great, however in Scotland the balances are a lot less. Recently I've had to clients approach me with £30000 mortgages which would pay £105. I have no option but to charge a fee or I wont make a living. I work very hard to maintain my level of knowledge in order to best assist clients I think I deserve payment for a professional service.
Not all cases are as clear cut as fee or no fee

Dan_Collins_2

I think Woolwich are the only one that seem to really want direct at the mo.

Nationwide are launching 50 or so BDM's so they will wantthem busy. Unless our BDM is a young fit blonde they can take a long jump!

Bonniebanks

Dan_Collins wrote: »

I think Woolwich are the only one that seem to really want direct at the mo.

Nationwide are launching 50 or so BDM's so they will wantthem busy. Unless our BDM is a young fit blonde they can take a long jump!

Had a BDM from NW on the phone yesterday telling me of the new rates they are launching through the adviser channel. As for Woolwich I wouldnt touch em with a barge poll.There level of service is adsmal !!

minimike2

Dan_Collins wrote: »

I think Woolwich are the only one that seem to really want direct at the mo.

Nationwide are launching 50 or so BDM's so they will wantthem busy. Unless our BDM is a young fit blonde they can take a long jump!

My network recently threatened Woolwich in a face-to-face meeting, that if they didnt shape up on the MASSIVE difference they have in dual-pricing, then they would be removed from the panel.

Woolwich Response : "Go for it, we aren't bothered".


But funny how today they have decided to make the 0.99 over base fee free available to intermediaires again! (all be it with a 1% erc for three years as opposed to no erc direct)

Bonniebanks

minimike2 wrote: »

My network recently threatened Woolwich in a face-to-face meeting, that if they didnt shape on on the MASSIVE difference they have in dual-pricing, then they would be removed from the panel.

Woolwich Response : "Go for it, we aren't bothered".


But funny how today they have decided to make the 0.99 over base fee free available to intermediaires again! (all be it with a 1% erc for three years as opposed to no erc direct)

I've been in discussions with someone from Barclays who own Woolwich and I've been told they are getting a boot up the !!!!. Also 70% of UK lending comes through the intermediary channel. Thats an awful lot of business to loose for the sake of a few direct deals

zedzed

Bonniebanks wrote: »

Had a BDM from NW on the phone yesterday telling me of the new rates they are launching through the adviser channel. As for Woolwich I wouldnt touch em with a barge poll.There level of service is adsmal !!

And do the NW deals beat "direct" deals? i.e. better than 3 year tracker @ BoE+0.74% + £599 fee? (which is what i'm being offered direct)

Thanks,
D

Dan_Collins_2

NW can whistle!

inca_2

Woolwich aren't the only ones who want direct business I can assure you, although where I am (would rather not say where) we really do very much want direct business, believe me, although it's still important for the company to have introduced too so it's not only direct business, is that the difference? I don't know much about how the Woolwich are with intermediaries so I don't know if they are only concentrating on direct.

inca_2

Also, I've heard that an old company that I worked for have been told that the branches no longer have a target of introduced business to get through the doors they now actually have a limit!! I can imagine how happy the brokers I used to deal with are at that. I can just imagine it, you take one case from them at the beginning of the month and then later when they try to put another through say 'sorry we've exceeded our quota for this month, try again next month' there is no way on earth that they will try to put another case through you again. I don't understand the logic, either you allow broker business through the branch network or you don't surely?

ixwood

Brokers are reaping what they sowed with all the dodgy business they put through previously (to get their commmission). If I was a bank, I wouldn't trust them either.

wisbech_lad

Bonniebanks wrote: »

I've been in discussions with someone from Barclays who own Woolwich and I've been told they are getting a boot up the !!!!. Also 70% of UK lending comes through the intermediary channel. Thats an awful lot of business to loose for the sake of a few direct deals

30% is still an awfully big market to play in. Direct Line insurance showed a long time ago that focusing on one distribution channel can work very well, no reason why it can't in mortgages too.

Not getting the hate - it's their business decision. If it is the wrong one, they'll suffer for it anyway.

Arguably direct allows you to cherrypick financially astute (= canny), but safer, customers. The sort of MSE "nerd" that checks and rechecks will only go direct if it is the cheapest channel, but will also be (by nature) a better risk than someone who values time/ can't be bothered, and uses a broker without also double checking all the direct offers

Think this was what DL found - they picked off all the 55 year olds in beige Skoda's, who, yes, only went with DL as it was cheapest, but also happen to be very safe drivers...

So it isn't just cutting distribution costs, it is cherry picking lower risk customers, e.g. those with more than 30-40% equity.