Is L&C truly whole of market?

Danzan

When I was recommended to use London & Country by a friend and also found it recommended by mse, I was confident that this is be the best option. I used them for my first mortgage and approached them again for my remortgage. This time, reading the accompanying document I was concerned that they may not be truly whole of market. There is a 'disclaimer' that says:

"We are only able to advise upon published rates that are directly available via us where we can process them on your behalf and the lender remunerates us for the work we carry out."

This reads to me that unless they get paid for the remortgage, then they wouldn't recommend them. This would make sense as why would they carry out work for a lender that wouldn't pay them. But to me this 'whole of market' claim seems a bit misleading!

Am I right or have i misunderstood something?

ACG

There used to be tied/multi-tied/whole of market/independent -however those descriptions went with the introduction of MMR in April.

However Whole of market did include just commission paying deals.

Whole of market was pretty much everything except - post office/co-op/hsbc/first direct. I agree with you it is a little misleading but it was called whole of market as it was representative of the whole of the market.

Danzan

Thanks fervent

So whilst they are recommending a product, it may not necessarily be the cheapest? I could approach my current lender directly and see what they are able to offer.

If I do a rate switch, would I have to pay any legal fees?

Thrugelmir

Danzan wrote: »

So whilst they are recommending a product, it may not necessarily be the cheapest?

There's no guarantee that you would meet the criteria for the cheapest deal in the market. Obtaining a mortgage isn't like walking round the supermarkets to find the cheapest price for an identical item. Product fees and other factors also make deals suitable for different borrowers. While lenders too have their own target market for certain products.

ACG

Rate switch will not include legal fees, but to be honest most remortgages have free legals anyway.

There is no harm in checking what your current provider can offer and compare it to what your broker can get.

haras_nosirrah

If l&c don't charge the client a fee you can't reasonably expect them to offer products where the lender won't pay them either. Do you work for free?

kingstreet

We used to describe ourselves as "whole of market for commission-paying products" and disclosed we would not consider lenders/products which could only be obtained directly from the lender.

Unless we were contracted on an independent fee-charging basis of course, then we rebated any commission to the client.

Our terms of business now reads;-

"We are not limited in the range of mortgages we will consider for you but not deals that you can only obtain by going direct to a Lender."

Danzan

haras_nosirrah wrote: »

If l&c don't charge the client a fee you can't reasonably expect them to offer products where the lender won't pay them either. Do you work for free?

I'm not suggesting that they work for free. I find that the 'whole of market' claim to be dubious. The advisor on the phone suggested that my current lender was unable to lend at this time yet the paperwork says that they didn't look at current lender because they didn't get commission.

Don't get me wrong, I'd still recommend L&C to others - the benefits far outweigh the negatives. But if you know what you're doing you could end up with cheaper rates yourself and save you the hassle of moving lenders if you can negotiate a good rate with your current lender

ACG

Over the last 2-4 years, I would say there have been better deals by going direct.
I think that is slowly changing and there are a few occasions I have started to see better rates via the broker route.

Whole of Market is a term coined up by the old FSA i believe. We had no choice but to follow it. Now we can call ourselves whatever we like so long as we make you aware of our limitations.

Danzan

I called up London and Country again to clarify if they looked at my current lender. According to the advisor, he checked my current lender but they were unable to lend due to my personal circumstances. On the key facts document it says otherwise.


Called my current lender and they offered me a better rate!

enginesuck

I'm sure you can save money if you know the market and are confident in your position. But I found L&C or at least the guy I dealt with (Neil) to be fantastic. As a first time buyer he made it so easy, I think they got around £500 commission I think he earns it. I'd recommend without hesitation.