Countrywide Mortgage Advice - Not happy!

nickhack

Hello,

In the process of attempting a remortgage I have uncovered a raft of problems with a number of different companies. I will break them into different threads as they aren't specifically related

2. Countrywide Mortgage Advisors

Before I outline my problems with Countrywide I must start by saying that in the past I have recieved advice and a service that is second to none. It is only since moving to a new area and expecting the same kind of service that I have become disillusioned with the company. The reasons are:

a. Availability
I appreciate that these people are very busy however since becoming involved with my local Countrywide mortgage adviser (and attempting to arrange a second mortgage as well as a remortgage) I can probably count on two fingers the numbers of times I have been able to get in touch with him and believe me I have rang many many many times!! It wouldn't be so bad if there was any kind of consistent ring back service but invariably he will try once and thats it. If you ring straight back, he's busy. If you ring later, he's busy. If you ring the next day, goto 10!

b. Product suitability
Once again, I appreciate that in my particular circumstances I am applying for simultaneous mortgages and that involves a lot of careful number crunching but I have now had to rejig and reapply for my buy-to-let remortgage three times (with the accompanying 2 or 3 week wait between each application) and have just today been declined for my second purchase mortgage (which, if I wasn't already living at family's house would've left me completely high and dry!). I am in a well paid secure job with no adverse credit history issues (excepting the one mentioned in my first thread - see link below) and even if I was surely the density of questions asked during a standard Countrywide mortgage application meeting would flag these issues before the point of application were reached?


3. Conflict of Interest?
On attempt number 2 I think it was I got as far as getting a valuation on my (to-be-let) property. The letting agent had valued the house as worthy of inexcess of £550 p/m and this figure had been used during the mortgage application. However when the Countrywide valuation came back it said the house was only worthy of £525 p/m and as comparison provided two similar properties. It just happens that I live in a small town and their are only two letting agents: the one I am with, who has no other 3 bed semis, and a second agent, who had two three bed mid-town houses in a particularly unpleasant town centre locale. Our intrepid surveyor must have decided that as there were no directly comparable housing (I live on a quiet cul de sac on the outskirts of the town with gardens, garage, etc) he would compare them to 2 lesser properties with no gardens, no garage, not semi detached and in inferior surroundings. I wouldn't mind but this meant I couldn't get the mortgage I had applied for and was advised to take one with a much higher (four figure) arrangement fee. I won't draw the conclusion that seems obvious to me as I am unsure of libel laws!

4. Incompetency
Having sat through a number of mortgage meetings my mortgage advisor knows me better than my own mother. I have filled in my details on four or 5 mortgage requests as well as provided documentation. So it was with some surprise that I recently found my mortgage application had recieved an initial decline repsonse due to a) incorrect start date been entered for my new job (the mortgage provider was lead to believe I had started 4 months ago!) and b) my application, supplied by the mortgage adviser, stating I had no other mortgage interest or home loans, when in fact I was also applying for a remortgage on my existing property. Doesn't exactly make me look like a safe pair of hands for their money does it?! I'm surprised they didn't attempt to get me on fraud charges

So there you go. Taken individually I appreciate that some of the issues can be explained or taken as my own repsonsibility, but as a whole I feel I have not received good enough service. I would be very hapy to hear from any other people with similar experiences!


For issues involving Nationwide, moving current account and 'missed' payment:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=188168

Miss_Penny_Pincher_2

Nickhack that was terrible! We got our mortgage through Countrywide but ours was a simple first time buyer mortgage. The mortgage advisor left and we were transferred to the head office in Preston for some reason and he was ALWAYS on a phone call whenever we rang and frequently didn't phone back when he promised he would. An annoying pain which really angered my OH - he said he wishes he had 10 hours to explain!!

AndrewSmith

Having previously worked in an Estate Agency enviroment as both a broker and latterly as a Fonancial Services Manager I can shed a bit of light onto this.

I think it all comes down to ownership of the responsibility for the individual clients, and a question of accountability.

Most estate agency brokers will be on a salary and some form of commission structure (commonplace is something to the order of 20% of the completed business value). They also have such things as a company car and phone, laptop etc etc.

The point is that they have a steady income which is guaranteed to them at the end of each month providing they achieve set performance targets (which are usually perfectly reachable). This tends to make them somewhat complaceant, as there will usually be a steady stream of enquiries from the residential front office staff. (Residential negotiators are usually targetted on the number of mortgage appointments they book). They also have the umbrella of a large company providing admin support, compliance and in some cases they even have case handling from a remote office.

When you are a broker or small firm working with your own personal reputation in mind you tend to take far more are over each case, and ensure that correct time and effort is given to it. After all, a self employed broker will be paid nothing until the day you get your keys. It is therefore in his interests to ensure that you are given a suitable product from the outset that will actually culminate in a mortgage offer being issued.

Also as a small broker firm will work mainly on recommendation, it is absolutely vital to them that good service and communication expectations are given to the client at the outset, and that these expectations are adhered to.

You will find that the smaller broker firm will actually take more ownership of the case, and aslo are individually accountable to the client for good service. After all, a decent broker will be your broker for many years to come.

Each have their own place in the market, I have nothing personally against large companies. It's just that it seems more and more these days that good customer service is becoming a thing of the past with these big chains, as they all strive for market share and increasing profits.

Rant over lol

Andy

Miss_Penny_Pincher_2

Thanks AndrewSmith. I remember our mortgage broker who sat in a Bairstowe Eves estate agent saying that she only needed to get 3 a week but if they came through the front of office staff she had to share her commission with them. No one said why she left but apparently they nicknamed the regional manager 'the poisoned dwarf' and he upset her so much one day she left work early... so I'm sure that had something to do with it!

Apparently we were passed to head office because the company had a policy of not wanting the staff to be able to earn the commission but it was inconvenient for us especially as we had mainly chosen the office for it's convenience!