Special Official Note For Mortgage Brokers

MortgageMamma

Good point indeed. The average forum user will not know how to distinguish their interpretation of the word advice as opposed to what that word means in the regulated environment. A good way of doing this is, at the bottom of the thread - "I just want to point out that all the information I have given you here is generic information only and is not specific to your circumstances, therefore please do not interpret my comments as advice, it is purely for discussion purposes- for advice tailored to your individual circumstances please consult a professional"

silvercar

So we get the laughable situation where amateurs can give advice but professionals can't!

I would have thought you really want to be able to give advice without taking liability for it. Otherwise you get people asking specific questions (eg BTL mortgages for FTBs) where brokers say things like "it can be done but I'm not telling you where" which actually, to the layman, looks like your saying, "I'll only tell you if I get something out of it".

MortgageMamma

silvercar wrote:

So we get the laughable situation where amateurs can give advice but professionals can't!

Funny - but yes it seems to be the case, however, when I see an amatuer giving advice to do this that and go to that lender, I always make a point of quoting them and writing a short para about whilst it was right for them it may not be right for the OP as different lenders have different criteria etc, but thanks for the input - then I feel all bad as if I have completely discredited what the person has said - which although I don't like admitting it I suppose I have

MortgageMamma

silvercar wrote:

So we get the laughable situation where amateurs can give advice but professionals can't!

I would have thought you really want to be able to give advice without taking liability for it. Otherwise you get people asking specific questions (eg BTL mortgages for FTBs) where brokers say things like "it can be done but I'm not telling you where" which actually, to the layman, looks like your saying, "I'll only tell you if I get something out of it".

I've had this conversation a lot of times, and ultimately end up getting ripped to bits, so in the end I started quoting "bunches" of lender names and saying that they MIGHT be able to help, then I got worried I was overstepping the mark

dunstonh

Its more a case of if someone says "can you give me advice" and its on a regulated area (so not everything) then the first adviser to respond should just clarify that the responses are discussion points only and not advice

silvercar

dunstonh wrote:

Its more a case of if someone says "can you give me advice" and its on a regulated area (so not everything) then the first adviser to respond should just clarify that the responses are discussion points only and not advice

Full circle. Wasn't one of the purposes of this thread to include this point in the signature?

Former_MSE_Webmaster

Right folks, I think that's just about enough. I'm going to lock this down now and hand it over to Martin to review.

I'd appreciate it if no other threads on this topic are started in the meantime.


Thanks,

Webby