An Open Letter To Mortgage Brokers.

moanymoany

I have had someone say to me that Martin advised a specific course of action. This was from something critical said in the media. I knew the item she was talking about and so I knew that he hadn't advised, but had given information about the topic under discussion.

On asking, the person said they hadn't actually read the item on the site. It is inevitable that this happens as stuff gets put around by 'chinese whispers'. 'Send reinforcements we're going to advance' ends up as 'send three and fourpence we're going to a dance'!

There is a wide swathe of advisers/financial organisations out there who would much rather have information kept to a 'need to know' basis - meaning who they think needs to know!

Martin's advice has saved me thousands and thousands of pounds and lost me nothing. I am certainly not alone in that and I am very grateful. :T

weewegieinexile

arkie wrote: »

Martin...
you are missing the point totally, as a broker I get people ringing me up saying they want a certain type of mortgage because that money saving fellow recommended us to do it. These people think you are qualified to give advice, as you will be aware that to be giving mortgage advice or what can be seen as mortgage advice you have to be regulated by the FSA. I have taken time to write to the FSA about journalists talking about mortgages as I feel that after over 20 years in the industry I want to protect my industry and my client from bad advice. PLease remember Martin please look upto you and some are foolish enough to believe everything you say. 3-5 months ago you were 'advising' people to fixe their mortgage, fix thier gas bills !!!! now you are telling people to 'ditch the fix' ,.
You should have a diclaimer stating that you are NOT qualified to give advice when you appear on the radio /tv.
As Ive posted before Martin if you want to give advice get qualified and get regulated to give advice. Put you money where you mouth is

Anyone who takes the time to read upon the possibilities available to them to make informed decision, Advice on this site will change as market fluctuate and banks etc shuffle things around.
I have read up on a number of money saving tips and made my own decision based upon straight forward advice. I can honestly say the decisions I have made have been the correct ones for me at the time.

As it stands This Week My Fee's Free Mortgage advisor got me a Mortgage form THE WHOLE OF MARKET as a first Time Buyer, Transaction completed in Under a week. Now the mortgage rate could be a little better but I got the best Deal I possibly could. That was all down to being informed from this site!:money:

minimike2

harryhound wrote: »

Should I feel the need for financial advice; I definitely would NOT seek it from a [strike]muppet[/strike] tied advisor in a bank.

I think I would look for someone on here who seemed to give good general free advice over many months, see if they were fee based and then send them a Private Message.

This may suprise you to hear this from a broker, but many tied advisers in banks are actually extremely professional and decent people. Many brokers, including myself, come from that background as its a good place to learn the industry. I can also not blame a lot of them for being where they are, as most will be earning a hell of a lot more than people like me and have better security in the form of a salary.

Bank advisers shouldn't be shot down. They are doing a job, just like anyone else. As long as they present thier IDD correctly to ensure people know they are A. Only offering products from thier own provider and B. Only offering advice (or not as the case most often is, with a few exceptions) from that limited product range, then I see no problem with bank advisers. They account for 20% maximum of banks business levels, which shows most people use them purely because they dont know where else to go really.

If clients wish to limit themselves to about 3% of the available products on the market, that is thier decision to make and thier loss - they will see the light one day. (Or find out about what a broker does!!)

I have to say that in the time I worked for two major mortgage lenders not once did I work in a team where any of the advisers were not professional or dishonest. That is something, however, that I have seen in large brokerage firms, running to the same "league tables" models as the banks. The difference being in banks you get sacked for mis-selling.




Oooooh, theres a post you didnt expect from me (especially given my current mood on here)!!

Joe_Bloggs

@Minimike I had some interest in reading your post until you mentioned the acronym IDD. If the contributers are going to use acronyms then perhaps a glossary of terms section of the post is essential in conveying the posts meaning.
J_B. Obviously ignorant of IDD amongst many things.

minimike2

You have the FSA to thank for that, Mr Bloggs.



(Financial Services Authority)

minimike2

Oh, they are also to blame for the KFI amongst other things. I mean, who would not want to read a nine page KFI after having read a 5 page IDD, coupled with the 30 pages of the Ts & Cs for the ISA RV they have just taken for the IO mortgage through the IFA?

I could go on.


M-Day (another one!!) bred this kind of consumer confusion. I thank you for your post, it highlights a very important point - regulation has not worked and needs a massive overhaul.

Tiddler_2

Yea, but sometimes you can't get a KFI which is compliant to the FSA's standard and so you have to phone the lenders BDM. Often they can't help so they tell you to phone through to the CSC. I told my MD and he wasn't best pleased and said he was going to speak to the lenders HR manager to get some training for said BDM at HBOS.

Anyway I'm off to update my T&C section of my CPD file.

TTFN !

Joe_Bloggs

@minimike2
If you do not ask questions then you may find difficulty in learning what actually goes on in the world. Those in the know could contribute to a glossary of terms and their likely interpretations of these terms when given to a third party. This party who has no connection with either party.
J_B.(Party On).

islandannie

Shirt lost back!

I sincerely hope lots of you Mortgage arrangers are in that position.

You deserve it.

minimike2

Joe_Bloggs wrote: »

@minimike2
If you do not ask questions then you may find difficulty in learning what actually goes on in the world. Those in the know could contribute to a glossary of terms and their likely interpretations of these terms when given to a third party. This party who has no connection with either party.
J_B.(Party On).

Haha.....good job too, I bet the Labour party would have diffuculty understanding it all.