Poor Experience

donaudd

I used L&C brokers to arrange my remortgage because MSE recommend them.
L&C initially handled my mortgage application ok, but I was soon unhappy as delays in the process led me to lose a 3.5% deal and I then had to settle for 3.74%. Expensive.
L&C then handled the next stages of my application ok, but once my application had been accepted by a lender I was left in the dark. I was forced to chase constantly for information over several months and my case manager never called me back. I raised a complaint, after which things became satisfactory again.
My experience was disappointing, and if L&C are the best brokers that MSE can find then the rest must be very poor.
Secondly, as a guide to any Scottish mortgage-seekers, I would not recommend McVey and Murrican as solicitors. They have a contact system which prevents any customer from ever speaking with a solicitor. The front desk staff did their best, but understandably could not comprehensively deal with my enquiries nor expedite matters effectively. 
Please note that not everyone in these two organisations was unhelpful, and in both cases some of the front desk staff were ultimately instrumental in getting things done.
In the case of both companies the faults lie mainly in the management systems they use to prevent telephone contact with customers. 

Linton

I would be very surprised if MSE did recommend L&C or any other broker. As far as I can see, they dont make recommendations, what they do is to list the best deals available and provide general advice. 

simon_or

Other than one short call many years ago, I have no need to use L&C or the other similar ones as I have an excellent independent broker who doesn't charge a fee, single point of contact all through to completion and responds within a day (7 days a week) where needed.

Even so, I don't think MSE recommends any brokers, they have a long list of brokers that they've vetted and tied up with who pay them a commission for referrals. They haven't said that L&C is the best or anything like that I'm sure.

L&C is a volume broker that processes thousands of mirtgages every week, most of them will go by without incident, some might offer a poor experience like for you. For obvious reasons, MSE can only tie up with large volume brokers.

dunstonh

I used L&C brokers to arrange my remortgage because MSE recommend them.
<snip>
if L&C are the best brokers that MSE can find then the rest must be very poor.

MSE suggests certain brokers that it believes they have the capacity to handle the workload that a referral on this site can give.   However, typically, your smaller localised brokers tend to give the best service, but you will never see them mentioned on MSE.

The internet factory line services tend to the job just as well if everything is simple and/or you don't need any hand holding.  However, the minute something goes wrong, the factory line ones tend to fall down.  That is where the localised ones tend to come into their own.

donaudd

Whilst MSE do not headline recommend L&C, L&C are the sponsors of the Remortgage Guide published on the MSE website.
This is the paragraph from the Remortgage Guide which influenced my choice of broker:

'The first type has the advantage that some of them (mainly working by phone or online rather than face-to-face) are fee-free, including London & Country, this guide’s sponsor.'

Neilos9

So you were attracted by the word Free, and expected a Great service experience - - Umm.