Being hassled by Mortgage advisor

young_al_capone

We have received a mortgage offer with the help of a mortgage advisor, and we are expecting to complete within the next couple of weeks, everything has been fine until recently the mortgage advisor has been pressuring us to take out income protection/life insurance through them. 

We've explained that we're not interested and are happy with our current protections & insurance, however he won't take no for an answer.

We are receiving daily phone calls/emails/text messages that are bordering on being aggressive, more or less insinuating that we'll face problems with the mortgage if we don't set up a meeting with him before the end of the week.........

My question is now we have a mortgage offer are we obliged to have any further contact with the mortgage broker, and what is the best way to get him to leave us alone?

kingstreet

Ask for a disclaimer you will sign accepting the risk of not arranging cover through this firm.

K_S

@young_al_capone I'm sorry to hear about the aggressive attempts to upsell from your broker.

I would suggest sending across a polite but firm email stating that you will not be taking out any further protection, are happy to sign a disclaimer if one is needed and request that they not make any further contact for the purpose of protection.

Technically, if everything goes smoothly you don't need any contact with the broker post offer. But it would be best to keep a line of communication until completion as there are scenarios in which their assistance might be required or the lender will contact them.

ACG

If you have said no and are being hassled daily with threats of your mortgage being pulled, I would ask for their complaints process. If they are part of a network (it will usually say something like xyz is an appointed representative of abc ltd at the bottom of their website) I would inform the network. 

simon_or

Tell them nicely (written on an email not phone) to stop bothering you about insurance and if they continue make a formal complaint.

Sistergold

I know I know it’s an expensive alternative BUT to keep relations sweet I have taken some of the suggested policies and ditched them after a month or two. That way I know the deal is done. I just take it a few insurance instalments is not the end of the world given I am already spending hundreds of thousands of pounds. Brokers can really get argie and funny about add ons. I just choose some refuse flat out some under the argument that I don’t need the particular ones. That way they tick all their boxes. That’s just me not wanting to go down the complaints root as I might need them. Just choose your battles is all I am saying. 

prowla

The mortgage adviser probably has a target to sell insurance protection.

They're not advising you to do it for your benefit.

ACG

Sistergold said:

I know I know it’s an expensive alternative BUT to keep relations sweet I have taken some of the suggested policies and ditched them after a month or two. That way I know the deal is done. I just take it a few insurance instalments is not the end of the world given I am already spending hundreds of thousands of pounds. Brokers can really get argie and funny about add ons. I just choose some refuse flat out some under the argument that I don’t need the particular ones. That way they tick all their boxes. That’s just me not wanting to go down the complaints root as I might need them. Just choose your battles is all I am saying. 

Oh god, dont do that!

1) The broker has done a load of work and then had a clawback of the commission. When I was starting out as a broker, I had a client call me for a policy. I did it for him, he cancelled it after 6 months. I didnt do the hard sell that is not in my nature. But I basically had an income one month that I then had to find 6 months later to pay back. So not only did I only earn about £3, I travelled to his home twice and I spent about 3-4 hours doing the work (in addition to travelling). 
2) Some brokers will put a clause in your paperwork that says if the policy is cancelled during the clawback period, you have to pay them for lost earnings. On a £30 policy, that can be £600 you might have to pay back. If this broker is trying to force something on you do not want, it would not surprise me if this was the case here. 

Sistergold

ACG said:

Sistergold said:

I know I know it’s an expensive alternative BUT to keep relations sweet I have taken some of the suggested policies and ditched them after a month or two. That way I know the deal is done. I just take it a few insurance instalments is not the end of the world given I am already spending hundreds of thousands of pounds. Brokers can really get argie and funny about add ons. I just choose some refuse flat out some under the argument that I don’t need the particular ones. That way they tick all their boxes. That’s just me not wanting to go down the complaints root as I might need them. Just choose your battles is all I am saying. 

Oh god, dont do that!

1) The broker has done a load of work and then had a clawback of the commission. When I was starting out as a broker, I had a client call me for a policy. I did it for him, he cancelled it after 6 months. I didnt do the hard sell that is not in my nature. But I basically had an income one month that I then had to find 6 months later to pay back. So not only did I only earn about £3, I travelled to his home twice and I spent about 3-4 hours doing the work (in addition to travelling). 
2) Some brokers will put a clause in your paperwork that says if the policy is cancelled during the clawback period, you have to pay them for lost earnings. On a £30 policy, that can be £600 you might have to pay back. If this broker is trying to force something on you do not want, it would not surprise me if this was the case here. 

Good advice, is there no cooling off period with these policies? I am talking from the point of view of a broker who stresses you and you have spelt out you don’t want the policy. The broker then starts insinuate that the mortgage is linked to the policies which it is not. With that kind of broker I will take the policy And cancel it in the cooling off period. But like I said I have been hassled before and it seemed the broker would scupper the whole deal out of spite. I would not want to bother with complaints while the house is gone. I have taken the policy paid for whatever minimum period and cancel. I put it down to some of the loses of the purchase. One of which sometimes is the paying over what property is worth. 

Buying a house can be so stressful and I just don’t bother with some of the battles. 

With the said broker I will not accept all policies I will accept one or two and insist I will not and do not need anything else. 

Glover1862

Sistergold said:

ACG said:

Sistergold said:

I know I know it’s an expensive alternative BUT to keep relations sweet I have taken some of the suggested policies and ditched them after a month or two. That way I know the deal is done. I just take it a few insurance instalments is not the end of the world given I am already spending hundreds of thousands of pounds. Brokers can really get argie and funny about add ons. I just choose some refuse flat out some under the argument that I don’t need the particular ones. That way they tick all their boxes. That’s just me not wanting to go down the complaints root as I might need them. Just choose your battles is all I am saying. 

Oh god, dont do that!

1) The broker has done a load of work and then had a clawback of the commission. When I was starting out as a broker, I had a client call me for a policy. I did it for him, he cancelled it after 6 months. I didnt do the hard sell that is not in my nature. But I basically had an income one month that I then had to find 6 months later to pay back. So not only did I only earn about £3, I travelled to his home twice and I spent about 3-4 hours doing the work (in addition to travelling). 
2) Some brokers will put a clause in your paperwork that says if the policy is cancelled during the clawback period, you have to pay them for lost earnings. On a £30 policy, that can be £600 you might have to pay back. If this broker is trying to force something on you do not want, it would not surprise me if this was the case here. 

Good advice, is there no cooling off period with these policies? I am talking from the point of view of a broker who stresses you and you have spelt out you don’t want the policy. The broker then starts insinuate that the mortgage is linked to the policies which it is not. With that kind of broker I will take the policy And cancel it in the cooling off period. But like I said I have been hassled before and it seemed the broker would scupper the whole deal out of spite. I would not want to bother with complaints while the house is gone. I have taken the policy paid for whatever minimum period and cancel. I put it down to some of the loses of the purchase. One of which sometimes is the paying over what property is worth. 

Buying a house can be so stressful and I just don’t bother with some of the battles. 

With the said broker I will not accept all policies I will accept one or two and insist I will not and do not need anything else. 

This makes no sense, why would a broker scupper the deal particularly after you have an offer, they've done the work and will be due a payment from the lender, no deal no payment, what's in it for them to scupper the deal?? 

You said "With the said broker I will not accept all policies I will accept one or two and insist I will not and do not need anything else." After you've felt pressured and they've had cancelled policies, sounds you've had multiple dealings and you still deal with each other? They are offer you more policies which you accept then turn down again? Doesn't add up for me.   

kingstreet

You've got to really, really, really despise a broker to take out cover then cancel it soon after.

Not only does it mean a clawback of commission (pretty much 100% of what was paid in the first couple of years) as ACG says, but it also skews persistency figures which are used at referencing stage for new employment.

If they have not obtained signed terms from you which ties the mortgage advice to the purchase of protection products then no link exists and as I suggested earlier, tell them you will sign any disclaimer they care to provide which exonerates them from any liability should any event befall you. That will clearly tell them you are not playing...