Is this site bias towards one mortgage broker?

payless

In no way am I suggesting Martin is doing so on purpose/ for gain ... but would be interested in the thoughts ( well votes) of the regular users of the mortgage board - not about any particular thread nor about Martin's articles - but overall

I'm not saying L&C aren't good at what they do, and I don't want people who have used them just to vote on their service ( good or bad) but rather if they feel that their exposure as a "commercial orgainisation " is too great on this site. ( or not)

In many recent threads I have seen brokers offer quality information , usually followed by the original poster offering thanks

Then pops up a particular poster- lets call him K for short , who often posts a link to L&C.

In one thread I therefore then posted a couple of links to brokers ( who had already given quality info) K said this was spam ( even though I had only done it once, compared to his many links to L&C) and now mine has disappeared, so I assume the abuse team deleted it . (link to L&C still there) the thread I mention is http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=317783

yes I'm a broker, BUT
1. I would receive no benefit from the links I posted
2. I don't have a signature
3. No current link in profile
4. I was previously mentioned in one of Martin's Articles which did lead to some referrals ... but I asked for this link to be removed. Surely this shows my presence on the board is not to tout for business.


I have no great axe to grind against L&C ... or any broker, but I am concerned that the current trend is
A. Disrupting the boards
B. Imply bias to L&C

MortgageMamma

Thanks for this Payless. This has been an issue that has been ongoing for some time now, and I do find it unfair that K is permitted to constantly spam the boards with links to L&C, a company by which he admittedly has never used, nor investigated, whilst your links to brokers who could most probably offer a far superior service to that of L&C have been discredited by being removed. Has the link to Skipton Building Society been removed?

This site is WAY too biased towards L&C in my opinion - I am saying this in a balanced manner not because I find L&C a threat before a certain forum user chirps in. Whilst Martin Lewis cannot feasibly investigate the services of smaller Mortgage Brokerages, if someone on here knows someone who's doing a good job, I cannot see any valid reason why this should not be mentioned, and I certainly cannot see why this would be deleted, and would be interested to know the reasons your post was deleted.

With regards to this particular forum user, I too have had posts deleted directed at him which were in no way abusive, so I would like to see some equality in the moderation of this board.

payless

I'm not saying L&C aren't good at what they do, and I don't want people who have used them just to vote on their service , but rather if they feel that their exposure as a "commercial orgainisation " is too great on this site. ( or not)

I do hope that this thread does not get deleted, as I think the result will give those brokers who do post a fairer understanding of the "public's" thoughts on brokers input.

MortgageMamma

Why should it get deleted? you are a consumer like everyone else, your occupation should not be considered in the context of the post. We are all entitled to ask for feedback in an open forum.

payless

Yeah.. its feedback thats I'm trying to generate...

The result might help brokers or Martin come to some useful conclusions

110frankie

this thread and subject worries me - I think it calls for a comment from Martin himself as it suggests bias towards a commercial enterprise.

AndyWallace

Does Martin receive anything for the referrals from this site? Sponsorship or anything like that?

It's quite commonplace for L&C to pay a referral fee of 25% on introduced business - Just a thought that's all.

Andy.

dunstonh

The article about mortgages does seem to give posters the impression that they should be using L&C. i.e. posts saying "Martins advice to use L&C....".

Plus the comment that they are one of the top brokers. There is no comment on what is meant by top. A small broker in the middle of nowhere could be top on something. It gives the impression that those 4 are being endorsed as the ones you should use.

L&C must love this site as it has to generate a ton of business for them.

I dont think that the intention is to promote L&C but it does appear that they get favourable treatment. Mention L&C and nothing happens. Mention anyone else and post gets deleted.

payless

AW- please delete or resize the above image

I don't belive Martin recieves any financial benefit in form of commission share.. although yes L&C do seem willing to pay , so I guess there "normal marketing budget" is spent elsewhere .. including sponsoring mail outs

In the trade this is known as a payment for ‘lead generation’ and in this case that means they pay for the publishing, printing, posting and a small fee to help this site.

payless

Dun- exactly its not so much the written word in the article.. it who it then gets passed on.

EdInvestor

There are many great local, small, fees-free, whole-of-market brokers in the UK. Find one in the phone book, give them a call, ask the questions and then go face to face, that way.

Obviously, it's impossible for me to review every one of them, so I've concentrated on the four predominant UK-wide mortgage brokers; Charcol, Savills, Chase de Vere Mortgages and London & Country. All are true ‘whole of market’ operators, the difference is in their charges.

The first three primarily operate face to face, while the fourth, London & Country, provide a telephone-only service thus it's cheaper to operate so can afford to be fees free. Therefore it’s a bit of a no-brainer. If you want a national mortgage broker London & Country wins on price and has good customer service feedback.

This looks to me like a recommendation of the likely best bet ( indeed he says it's "a no-brainer" ) among national mortgage brokers.But there is no actual recommendation to use the big national firms in the article.

Indeed the initial recommendation is to check your phone book for a local broker, of which many are described as "great" and then to go and get face to face advice from one of them.

My interpretation of the article (and of course I could be wrong) would be that Moneysavers could use the phone service offered by L&C to get a quick and easy check on what the small broker is offering, to make sure they are getting a good deal.

You could perhaps compare this with the idea of checking out the discount broker Hargreaves Lansdown's offers in the investment area, to make sure your advisor is not charging you excessive fees.

Strangely enough, this idea also seems to wind up quite a few advisors - though not all of course, as many are getting quite competitive these days.:)