"Have you dealt with..."

brunnle1

Have you dealt with http://www.millfieldmsc.co.uk/ ???
I am keen to hear any stories about this Mortgage Broker company. Are they any good. Do you strongly advise for or against using there services. Should I agree to a visit from one of there 'Reps' to talk to me & my partner, Re: remortgaging.

Any advice is most welcome.

Regards,
Leighton.

Debt_Free_Chick

How did you come to consider them?

Do you have a good credit record? (They seem to target the sub-prime market).

dunstonh

The odds of a forum contributer having used their services is unlikely.


I did get the following from their website:

"Please note there will be a fee for a full mortgage application. The precise amount will depend upon your circumstances but we estimate there will be a £250 administration fee payable upon application and either £1500 or 1% of the mortgage advance (2% for unconforming lending), which ever is the greater. This will be in addition to any commission we receive from the mortgage lender"

Payless will be in a better position to comment on this but I believe that is possibly uncompliant. I thought that you couldn't call yourself independent and take a fee AND commission from the provider. You have to be able to offer a fee only service where no commission is taken. It doesn't stop commission being available for those not willing to pay fees but their compliance message doesnt suggest that.

Fairdo_2

I have had a client of mine who had originally seen a chap from this company.

She certainly was not a sub prime type of client. She was actually hoodwinked into dealing with a completely inappropriate mortgage by this man, who gave her a discounted rate with extended tie in, when she had mentioned to him that she wanted a penalty free mortgage as she was likely to be uptrading within the year!!!!

She had assumed that this was being done, but he had not givn her any paperwork at the time and had got her to sign some papers and commit to a fee of £1,500.

As I knew her of old and, as an accountant with 3 languages under her belt, I did not doubt her intelligence. I asked how she could have fallen for this and she said she was not really aware of what she was doing by this time, as he had been with her for the whole day and was acting more like a friend at the end. This was a huge suprise as I know her to be very thorough.

She started getting doubts afterwards and it was a stroke of good timing that I contacted her at that point.

I saw her and got her to phone the office of this person. We then established that this was a completely inappropriate scheme he had committed her to, but luckily, he had not sent anything off. I helped her to put pressure on to ensure that all documents were returned and that no fee was taken.

Obviously, I would not want to tar them with the same brush, but I found this particular practice very disturbing, especially considering the person they managed to snag!

DD, I have a different understanding of the rules, which makes this new regulation all the more intriguing, considering there is still confusion within the industry!!

I have been lead to believe that the stipulation to being able to call yourself Independent is (as well as being able to offer mortgages from the whole of market, or representative whole of market) being able to offer a fee based service. My understanding is that you can charge a fee as well as take commission from the lender. You must disclose as such though.

In a way, there could be instances where this could be fair for the client. For example, if the client is concerned about bias of the broker and wishes that the broker receives a set fee overall, this could be paid by the client up front and the fee paid by the lender could be reinbursed by the broker after they received the funds. Or the client could pay the difference between the overall fee and what the lender is to pay and the broker could take the lenders commission would come to the broker after completion. This could benefit the client, as they do not have such a high outlay and their bias concerns are still addressed.

However, the kind of fees millfield are displaying are exhorbitant and it amazes me that people end up paying these fees, which obviously they do.

Morally it is wrong, but legally, I think they can charge what they like. It's just down to the public to vote with their feet!

simonjfisher

Definitely no need to pay fees of this level or any level to be fair.

There are enough independent mortgage brokers out there that will offer you a no fee option.

dunstonh

I dont transact mortgage business so i only concern myself with the designated investment classification. Which will surprise no-one when I say its different.

I just looked up the mortgage definition of independent on my network's support site and they say that to call yourself independent you have to offer a fee only service. Although that doesn't mean you only have to offer that option.

Confused, you will be after this episode of compliance.

Fairdo_2

Blimey DD That takes me back!

I thought I was the only one that used to watch SOAP.

herbiesjp

I would look closely at the fees also - they do seem horrendous! I'm sure getting in contact with a few independent mortgage brokers/advisers would enable you to see the difference in fee structures. Also, they should come up with similar type schemes for your needs.

payless

Brief- as Broadband is down

DD/ Fairdo

my thoughts fllw DD's

For a mortgage adviser to be called independent they must

1. Offer a whole of market service ( more on that in other threads)
AND
2. Give the customer the option of paying a fee that will be theonly renumeration received for the service - if customer exercises this opion, headviser must apa them any commission recieve.


Taken from (summarised) FSA - small firm Conduct of business
fuller rules can be from at MCOB4.3.7.R)

payless

I assume this is part of the Millfield Group - a large IFA - I am not ceratin that the terms around independent and fees ar being enforced yet to exising IFAs rather new FSA registered motgage advisers- but would have thought so

Fairdo_2

Thanks payless.

I stand corrected.

I must pass this on to the compliance people that have been passing these assumptions down to us and allowing that on our KFI's!