London and country- avoid

charsi16

Wondering if others have had bad experiences with these brokers? having had a horrible experience with them , I googled now!! and found that there has been some negative comments /threads a few years back but nothing recently. TBH I could have avoided going with them as they have multiplied the hassle and I would have gone directly to the lender and saved time and avoided stress...and to know they are going to be paid nearly a thousand pounds for lack of service!! PURE UNPROFESSIONALISM

GMS

Did you know which lender was the best one for you prior to speaking to L&C?

What has been the issue? Often the bigger companied lack the attention you get from smaller companies, the service can become less personal.

Googling companies will more often than not lead to bad reviews as by nature you find people complaining on forums etc rather than praising.

If you are not happy with L&C could you not find another broker?

charsi16

I had a few options, obviously I wanted to check with the brokers and see if they could get me a better deal! They did suggest one and told me that they had an exclusive deal with the lender that they could get me...they knew I wanted to complete in 6 weeks time frame..First the person handling my work input some wrong info on the initial application, when I was asked to provide originals to support my application, i was made aware of these inconsistencies . Anyway, then they did not chase up the lender whereas clearly the lender states that they would turn around an application decision within a set time frame, then the person handling my case went off, his partner went on leave and no one knew if he was coming back the next day or the week after!! he finally returned after 12 days, in the meantime someone else took over the case, then I told them that the lender had reduced the interest rates!! all the things that the broker is supposed to do to earn the commission!!
Now the issue is that ...if I start the work myself ...my clock will start from now!! in the middle of a mess created by L&C

GMS

Sounds like a bad experience.

Was the lender Accord by any chance?

You could possibly get another broker to take over the case. Tell L&C you are not happy and will go elsewhere if they do not pull their finger out. If you feel strongly enough then look at other options.

Good luck with whatever you do

charsi16

Hi GMS, are u working for L&C? have I been speaking to you? How do you know that the lender was Accord?

Senior_Paper_Monitor

Because anyone who does this for a living (as GMS openly states he does) knows that Accord have some very attractive 'exclusive' (to various broker networks, large groups) rates, with regular changes - our last client through them took advantage of two rate changes during the process, over the last few months and as a result their administration system has been completely overwhelmed, to at near collapse at times. Hardly a 'Sherlock Holmes' moment or indication that he works for L&C !

Accord claim this is now close to resolved (am just about to put another case through them - having warned the clients and ensured they are not on a strict schedule) incidentally.

While, as GMS indicates, a smaller operation has some benefits in personal service (and is probably more likely to be able/willing to hassle this sort of case through - although I would openly admit we nearly lost the last case through them as it was complicated, and a last minute property change, primarily due to Accords disorganisation) and is certainly less likely to pass (lose?) the case between individuals, L&C generally have a very good reputation.

Get hold of your individual broker, tell him/her to get hold of the case manager (or BDM if necessary) and report back on the position and schedule within 24 hours - you can then decide if any furrther action is warranted.

superbabe612

We used L&C to get our mortgage and couldn't be happier with the service. We even changed solicitors and lenders 3 weeks ago because we weren't satisfied with THEIR services, so L&C got new ones lined up for us who have been excellent.
No, I don't work for them, but I wouldn't hesitate to use them again. Ask for Toby. He's an angel! He always replied to my emails the same day, he never implied my questions were too silly and he definitely never made me feel like I was a nuisance.
In the end we went with Nationwide, they aim to make a formal offer within 10 days of application. They text me to say they'd received our application and they didn't instruct the valuer until they'd processed all our documents so as not to waste our valuation fee. The surveyor valued the property at 1.30pm, and at 4.30pm I got 2 texts from the Nationwide to say the valuation was satisfactory and that they'd issued the mortgage offer! If you're in a hurry, go with Nationwide!
Good luck!

Amphibian

L&C stated firmly that i couldn't borrow what I needed at a decent rate, even taking my overtime into account. I was convinced he entered the figures incorrectly, despite double checking again and again. In the end, by going directly to the lender, I borrowed the money I needed at the same interest rate at 90% LTV on a large mortage as he was offering at 85% LTV on a far smaller mortgage and without my overtime even being taken into account.

GMS

charsi16 wrote: »

Hi GMS, are u working for L&C? have I been speaking to you? How do you know that the lender was Accord?

No I don't work for them. As has been pointed out since it was not exactly a Columbo moment!!

HAve you managed to resolve anything yet?

Sleepy_head_2

L&C have been great with me, Accord wouldn't lend what I need due to partner living with me but not being on the mortgage (they deem him a dependent even though he earns as much as me- grrr), they switched me very quickly to Nationwide and in 3 working days I had a mortgage offer.

charsi16

The experience has been horrible, I am giving myself a week, if they are not able to sort out the mess they created and approached the lenders, who dont see common sense , I will take this as experience and move on to apply on my own. I will still have to pay for some of the expenses incurred, booking fee and the valuation!