London & Country

Mortgageman

What a nice start to the day - great to get feedback form people who have actually used our service, and for it to be so positive - as Dan_Collins said people rarely shout about the good things companies do!

We quite often see the "little local broker v Big national broker" discussion here, and I thought I might add my tuppence worth!

At L&C we advocate fee free mortgage advice, and there's no doubt that there are lots of good local mortgage brokers offering free, whole of market advice. The thing is, there's loads of bad ones too. Most of the people who post on this board will fall in to the good side - they're spending their time helping people for little or no reward, but how can you tell if the broker down the road from you is a good one or a bad one?

The best way, of course, is from personal referrals - if your friends or family have used a mortgage broker and got a good service then the chances are you'll use them too - and that's absolutely how it should be - the man who decorated my house did such a good job I told all my friends - and now they all use him, he's been rewarded for his good work. (Incidentally the majority of our business still comes from referrals and returning customers, so we must be doing something right ) .

But what do you do in the absence of a personal recommendation?

I'd suggest you'll always be better off going for one of the bigger companies - we have process and procedures in place to make sure that the advice we give is of the highest quality. There is a chance you might not get on with your adviser, but I think the risk is much lower than going in to a shop on the high street.

Additionally, as a major force in the UK mortgage market we are able to get exclusive deals with lenders, and are able to get more involved in cases where there are issues - we have more clout with the lender.

We're a known entity (you can be sure that if Martin wasn't 100% happy with the service we provide he wouldn't even mention us) - the shop down the road is a complete unknown, they might be great, they might not be - why take that risk? We see many many more posts on these boards about "my broker lied to me" or "am I being ripped off by my broker" than we do mentioning L&C (and don't forget that that's just pure number, if we did it as a % of customers it would be an astronomical difference)

Quite often the advice from people on these boards is to use a local broker - and I can't disagree with this, but I think it needs updating to "Ask you friends and family if they've used anyone local - if they have, great, if they haven't you'll probably be better off with a bigger more well known name."

I understand why the brokers on this board post what they do, but everyone (including them) needs to remember that they are the good guys of the industry, and sadly not all the little brokers will adhere to the high standards they set.

There were a couple of individual issues raised in the thread - mainly about us saying products being withdrawn. I'm sure all the other brokers on here will testify that it has been quite a couple of weeks with products coming and going - we're often in the fortunate position of finding out about withdrawals before they actually happen. In this case it's our duty to let our clients know - I appreciate that to two people in this thread that came across as pressure and I'm sorry about that. To hundreds of others it meant they could get the product they wanted.

wolds_lady, I'm sorry you found your adviser to be pushy. I'll have a chat with him to see if there are ways we can improve this - I'm never particularly comfortable with individuals details being posted without their permission, do you think there is any chance you could temper your post to make it more general?

Anyway, last thing I want to do is to ruffle any feathers - it's just something that's been worrying me for a little while that I thought worth mentioning.

andyyorks

Dan_Collins wrote: »

Can I ask you somthing?

Why would you research it your self then use a broker? I am not being funny but I see different people doing my job. Those that can arrange mortgages but no time, those who cant arrange the mortgage if they had the time or not and need the hand held service or those who need to get off of the high street for whatever reason!

What I am saying is what makes a person want to use me? Well a broker that is?

I've used L & C twice now and have pleased pleased with both the mortgage and service. I had checked the market before speaking to the broker and after he'd got back to me with various options. Both times they were offering a better deal than going to the lender direct and what was showing in best buy tables. By better deal I mean the rate was competitive, but not quite the best on the market, but it had very low fees attached to it. That's basically why I use them, to get their better deals.

Dan_Collins_2

Mortgageman I must admit I thought that a harsh name and shame! Saying the company is one thing but the person with a number is a little out of order. I did not check but I think they shoudl amend the post. He could have been having a bad day, he is human!

I agree with what your saying, but I think if you deal with a large or small company it depends on the person your dealing with. People dont by my our company they buy in to me, people dont buy in to L&C they buy in to the broker they talk to. Its human nature.

I dont think L&C can do anything I or any other broker cant do. A few lenders give exclusives to brokers and our network gets us a lot of exclusives. But as you say people know of L&C and Mr Lewis seems to like you.

Merlot

I too thought it was harsh actually naming and shaming, I have reported that post to abuse and ask if they will remove as contains personal details.

Merlot

jediknightwarrior

Hi Mortgageman,

I have a couple of questions if possible?

When using your service for advice & recommendations do you always include lenders products, that I understand do not always pay commission, like Giraffe Money, Britannia BS, HSBC, and First Direct, West & Brom, Stroud etc...?

I occasionally see some of their products appear on your website, however, I was under the impression these did not pay any commission. Do they only appear if that particular product pays a commission?

This may not be the case, however, I just want to make sure these products are not being listed to generate calls and then not included in the final recommendations.

Thanks

silvercar

well the FD 4.99% is still in the besy buy table. Any response from L&C?

dweeby

silvercar wrote: »

well the FD 4.99% is still in the besy buy table. Any response from L&C?

L&C gave me their recommendation about a week ago, and whilst I was thinking about it I became aware of the First Direct rates. I called L&C and asked the guy to get me a First Direct quote. The answer he gave me was that he couldn't, as First Direct only sell direct.

The FD rate was 0.69% better than the L&C recommendation...

jinky67

I dont think L&C can do anything about this if a company only sell direct.
Surely you are using them to get the best deal the can find from the companies that they deal with?

payless

I agree , but perhaps they should be a little clearer - the following is lifted from their site

Will they put your interests first? Your broker will receive a commission from the mortgage lender for recommending their product. Not all mortgage lenders pay commission, however. If there was a mortgage that really suited you and paid no commission, would the broker still recommend it? A reputable mortgage broker will keep your interests at heart at all times. Address this issue with them before proceeding.

It goes without saying that L&C Mortgages fulfills all of the above criteria.

silvercar

jinky67 wrote: »

I dont think L&C can do anything about this if a company only sell direct.
Surely you are using them to get the best deal the can find from the companies that they deal with?

So they shouldn't be including them in their best buy tables with link buttons to apply through L&C unless they are able to offer that mortgage.