Case for complaint against broker?

pinkyvonne82

Hello, I wonder if anyone can advise me? I am a FTB and applied for a mortgage through an indepedent finanical advisor and paid £399 to do this. Based on my information we went for Nationwide as it was the best deal for me. I paid a £99 admin fee and £180 valuation fee to Nationwide. My timeline is:

19 November - mortgage applied for
20 November - valuation booked
28 November - valuation report satisfactory
2 December - lower mortgage amount than required offered

I was told before full application by my broker that Nationwide were willing to lend the amount I required on the provision that I paid my credit card balance off (£2500) which I was able to do. My broker called me on Monday with the news that they would only be prepared to lend me £6k less than I needed as I have a student loan. Having waited two weeks I was really disappointed and it feels like a huge setback.

My broker pretty much said it's my fault as I didn't declare the student loan at the time of application and obviously I am kicking myself for not doing so, believe me. I suppose that because it comes out of PAYE I don't think about it as a debt in the traditional sense. However, I'm smarting a little as at no point did my broker ask me if I have a student loan, plus it's very clearly stated on my payslips that I pay it, which I provided.

I'm trying another provider (through the broker) but I'll be charged a higher interest rate and product fee and I have to pay their admin and valuation fees. I'll never see the £280 I paid to Nationwide again, not to mention the £399 broker fee I have paid for what appears to be a substandard service.

A further minor thing that happened is that I called Nationwide myself on Monday to check on progress and they said that they were waiting for a landlord reference as it wasn't obvious on my bank statements what was a rent payment. Apparently they'd told my broker this two working days previously but this hadn't been relayed to me and I had spoken to the broker in that time period who told me the application was progressing.

My quesiton is, should I complian or does the blame lay squarely with me? If it does lay with me I accept that and serve as a cautionary tale to any other naive FTBs out there.

Thrugelmir

pinkyvonne82 wrote: »

My quesiton is, should I complian or does the blame lay squarely with me? If it does lay with me I accept that and serve as a cautionary tale to any other naive FTBs out there.

Not really a question of blame. However a salutory lesson to always disclose all the facts at the relevant time. Don't rush important matters.

kingstreet

If we saw the student loan and it made the mortgage unaffordable, we would not have submitted it to the lender. We routinely check the lender's online affordability calculator before we move from DIP to full application.

We would have found an alternative lender instead.

If we get a case declined on affordability, that's our fault, not the client's, IMHO.

ACG

The broker should have been looking at the payslips to ensure the figures you gave him tallies up with what is on the evidence... They should have picked up on the payslips, but at the same time you should have told him about the student loan on the application - how you think of it has no baring on it, it is still a loan.

I think there is equal "blame" here. I can see both sides, but as the professional you would assume he would have picked up on it.

I fell foul of something similar to this when i first started as a broker, i just refunded the application fee as it was with my client without an argument as i seen it as my downfall.

Its your right to make a complaint if you feel you feel you are out of pocket because of a brokers mistake. Its their right to defend it if they feel like it is you who is at fault. If you cant agree, it can then be referred to the Financial ombudsman to let them make a decision on it.

Simon_gloster

Student loans are LOANS and are deductible as long as they are being repaid. Why any borrower would think is not is beyond me and dumb.

Dave_Ham

I think it is a poor show from the broker, lets not forget they are the professional and not you.

It does not sound that this was deliberate on your part and as Kingstreet states, we would not have even put in the full application as would have clocked it.

I would just have an adult conversation with the broker as no-one likes formal complaints.

Good luck

Let_Us_See

A couple of points.

1. Why did you pay an upfront fee?
2. Should have used mortgage broker who handles such queries on a daily basis rather than an IFA.
3. Has the lender confirmed the shortfall is definitely linked to your existing student loan? As factors other than income can influence the Nationwide's lending decision.
4. Perhaps both of your must share some degree of blame and I do not think it likely any official complaint would succeed.

Finally, any adviser/broker willing to admit they had never made an error?

ACG

Finally, any adviser/broker willing to admit they had never made an error?

I already have done further up the page.
I also admitted that i refunded the fee in full without a debate, in fact the client never even had to ask for the money. I seen it as my mistake not the clients.

ACG wrote: »

I fell foul of something similar to this when i first started as a broker, i just refunded the application fee as it was with my client without an argument as i seen it as my downfall.

dunstonh

My broker pretty much said it's my fault as I didn't declare the student loan at the time of application and obviously I am kicking myself for not doing so, believe me. I suppose that because it comes out of PAYE I don't think about it as a debt in the traditional sense. However, I'm smarting a little as at no point did my broker ask me if I have a student loan, plus it's very clearly stated on my payslips that I pay it, which I provided.

Asking you if you have loans, credit cards or other borrowing is a default question all brokers are going to ask. So, were you asked if you had any loans etc or not?
Is if the fault of the broker that you failed to disclose a loan when asked (assuming you were asked)?

That said, if it is clearly marked on the payslip then it could have been picked up.

Personally, I think it would be very harsh to complain and to be honest, you didnt disclose a material fact. So, you are not in a strong position. That said, if it is an obvious deduction on the payslip and can be easily seen to be a loan then the broker should have spotted it. So, agree with those above and suggest an adult conversation with some middle ground met between you.

pinkyvonne82

Thank you very much for all your responses it's helped me with my thinking and I intend to have an adult conversation with the advisor to come to some sort of agreement. I completely accept that when I was asked if I have any loans I failed to disclose student loan. If I'd have filled in the application form myself I would have realised I'd missed student loan off but then I'm paying a broker to apply on my behalf to those lenders that are most likely to accept.

It was an in house estate agent broker that I used. I didn't realise there is an option not to pay an upfront fee.

Nationwide have explicitly said that it was the student loan that lowered the amount available to me. Using the affordability calculator on the intermediary website tells me much the same thing.

I am well aware that a student loan is still A LOAN so yes, I do feel 'dumb' but as others have said, one would expect a professional to have picked up on it through my payslips. I'm sure the broker will be making doubly sure with future clients.

For other mortgage hopefuls out there if you are using a broker and they ask you about loans and you have a student loan then heed my sorry tale and don't forget about it!

ACG

pinkyvonne82 wrote: »

It was an in house estate agent broker that I used. I didn't realise there is an option not to pay an upfront fee.

That was the biggest mistake right there... Too many targets and people to see, not enough time or interest in individual clients.