VouchedFor phone numbers linked to different people

FirstTimePensioner

I'm likely to retire soon and need an IFA to provide advice on size of lump sums etc etc.

Starting on the MSE website I found some pages that pointed me to "vouchedfor". So I entered my location and did a search and a few local names came up. So far so good and I made a note of a person I liked the look of and his vouchedfor phone number - 0330 038 xxxx

A few days later I realised I had forgotten his address so I did a reverse search on the phone number, expecting to get back to his vouchedfor page, and was surprised to discover two different people assigned the same vouchedfor number.

With a bit more poking, I have managed to screen dump a vouchedfor search listing 3 people, 2 of whom have the same number but apparently work for different firms.

Can anyone explain how vouchedfor work that would make sense of this?

dunstonh

With a bit more poking, I have managed to screen dump a vouchedfor search listing 3 people, 2 of whom have the same number but apparently work for different firms.

Could either be introducers, such as mortgage advisors operating under their own company name but referring investment business to an advisor that operates under their company name. Or it could be a small network. Networks allow their appointed reps to operate under their own trade name despite being under the FCA permissions of the principal firm. A telephone number starting 0330 suggests a larger firm, so a network or sales force model it is quite possible.

It’s possible that several firms operate out of that office, and the phone number is the reception desk for all of them. Or they could have a virtual office with a similar setup

Most IFAs are small local firms of one to five advisors who would use their own local telephone number and not have a non-geographic telephone. So you may want to check if the advisor is a directly authorised advisor or one that works under a network or salesforce.

QrizB

Can anyone explain how vouchedfor work that would make sense of this?

0330 is a non-geographical number. I suspect it takes you via a phone redirection service which lets vouchedfor track all the leads they generate.

Depending on when you check vouchedfor, you might get different 0330 numbers for the same advisor firm or when they reuse numbers the number could point to a different advisor.