why you should REALLY support brokers

judi24

This thread is driving me mad!!!!

You either want a broker or don't!
Value thier service or don't!

Different people have different views, experiences and opinions but this thread is becoming petty and tiresome!

If mortgage brokers on here offer a good service that genuinely help people then great! others do not! (from experience!)

Dan_Collins_2

UK007BullDog wrote: »

I have left the Finance Industry as well starting tomorrow.

My post is here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=948549 kinda hyjacked Dan's post.

Will change my signature in due time.

Your welcome!

ixwood

MortgageMamma wrote: »

..

Well, we've not had a great deal of imput from the public on this thread. This leads me to a few possible conclusions

1, the thread has got too technical and boring for a consumer to really be bothered to read
2, they have read it all before and don't want to read it again
3, they really don't give a monkeys what happens to the advice profession and don't feel strongly enough about it to worry about obtaining free advice in the future.


Perhaps Cells has a point. Maybe we are just not "needed" anymore and the internet and bank salesforces are going to take over whether we like it or not.

Time will tell.

3 for me. Whilst direct deals are cheaper, then brokers are a non option for me. I recently remortgaged to FD's 5.15%. My old broker did ring and I gave them the chance to beat it, but they couldn't get close.

I do think all "the customer is being ripped off if direct deals are cheaper" business funny. That's clearly not the case IMO and it smacks of self interest, not a real concern for the customer to me. That reduces my sympathy/support level a notch.

BrokeRage

It's not a case of being ripped off by lenders - it is about lack of advice from lenders, lack of choice and reduced consumer protection, amongst other issues.

BrokeRage

and there is a large degree of self-interest involved....we are fighting for our financial lives at the same time as promoting choice, protection and value for the consumer.

HelpWhereIcan

I find it interesting that some people quote the internet as their main source of research and describe a Mortgage Adviser's / IFA's job as

cells wrote: »

What can a Mortgage Adviser offer someone that one cant get with 1h on the net for free?

or do you all just fill in forms for the stupid?

Not picking on cells (who has made a couple of valid points along the way :rolleyes: ) just that this comment is typical of the sort made by those who have the same viewpoint.

They believe that the averagely intelligent person with straightforward needs can use the comparison sites and non advised brokers (Cavendish are, afterall, an IFA firm - just one offering a non advised service) or the provider's own site and branches to do the same job as an adviser at a lower cost.

As long as that person genuinely understands contract they are entering then no problem and I would tend to agree.

However, that assumes that the information on which you have based your decision is correct.

When a mortgage broker or IFA compares Financial Products for you and makes a reccomendation they are responsible for the information you are given and the suitability of the advice and contract to your objectives and circumstances.

When you make the choice yourself, on a non advised basis, you are responsible for ensuring that you have understood the contract properly, that the information you based your decision on was accurate. The comparison site/discount broker has no responsibility (which is why some IFA firms and most major Financial Institutions have set up non advised, click to purchase sales sites).

No problem for the normal, straightforward case .. if the information on which you have based your decision on is correct.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/consumer_affairs/article3234321.ece

The Financial Services Authority is to investigate price comparison websites amid concern that they are misleading consumers into buying unsuitable insurance products.

In a policy U-turn, the City watchdog said that it had decided to begin the review despite previously rejecting calls for regulation after research had come to light that showed that the sites were confusing and potentially misleading.

The article does refer to insurance sites, but there have been many criticisms within the industry of the mortgage and investment comparison sites as well. I believe that this investigation will expand into mortgage and investment sites (or they may have their own, seperate investigations).

Only Vested interests complaining? Possibly, but remember that there were some advisers speaking out against endowments long before the media picked up the story.

Many 'mis-selling' scandals have been indentified in the industry long before the media brings it to the wider public's attention. Concerns about the abuse of Self cert were being expressed in Trade publications long before Panorama did their first programme.

Concerns have been also been expressed by some about the completeness of information provided on sites such as this, fool etc etc (which are excellent but have to keep things as short as possible and, by their nature, be generic).

As in all things, generic information does not apply in all cases all the time. If you make the error, you have full responsibility. If your adviser makes the error they have the responsibility.

When you are talking about a contract that can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands over decades that can be a very important consideration for some.

That is the difference between a mortgage, pension or other investment and your annual holiday or even car insurance.

The cost of an error can easily run into thousands and have effects for years. I believe that is the financial value I add, the service and administration I offer only add to that.

Whether you agree or not is an individual decision and people deserve to be respected for their opinion either way.

If I give someone Financial Advice of whatever sort, I back that up with a lifetime liability to financially compensate them if I am wrong. If you can do the same with some research on the internet would you be willing to provide the same guarantee?

Will MSE, Motley Fool, thisismoney.co.uk, the comparison sites and execution only sites do the same?

If you are not sure it may well be worth asking them before you may your decision to use them for all your financial planning needs.

Dan_Collins_2

ixwood wrote: »

3 for me. Whilst direct deals are cheaper, then brokers are a non option for me. I recently remortgaged to FD's 5.15%. My old broker did ring and I gave them the chance to beat it, but they couldn't get close.

I do think all "the customer is being ripped off if direct deals are cheaper" business funny. That's clearly not the case IMO and it smacks of self interest, not a real concern for the customer to me. That reduces my sympathy/support level a notch.

I dont think the issue is the client being ripped off. Although you should not be financially worse off because you want to go via a broker, which is how it stands. It should be a level playing field.

To be honest I am fighting for my business so yes, I am interested in my self, just as the lenders are. However if we get ouur way, the client will get protected advice and just as good a deal as if you walked in to a branch.

Life is about self interest, its human nature. You want the best deal, I want to access the best deals, the lender (Top of the food chain) want the business how and when they want it.

silvercar

I think it is the lender's dual pricing that really makes a broker's comments about lifetime liabilities hard to swallow.

If I go to a whole-of-market broker and they spend their time, do appropriate research etc and find me a deal with a lender that is then offering the same deal in all detail except a lower interest rate direct, what am I meant to do?

Pay the extra interest for 25 years for what, the reassurance that this is the best deal? But it clearly isn't because I can get the same deal with a cheaper rate myself. OK I won't get the professional liability for the mortgage, but if the broker was prepared to offer it, then presumably they are saying that it is the right deal for me, so why shouldn't I take the cheaper option?

This is why I am reluctant to use a broker ATM. To sit in front of a broker, have them use their time and expertise and find me a deal that I could get cheaper myself. Then I feel awkward for wasting their time. I have an IFA, solicitor and accountant, so the chances of them being able to provide add-ons is unlikely. My credit rating is clean, I have low LTV and low salary multiples, so my case is bog-standard and therefore the chances of needing to call in the liability is limited.

HelpWhereIcan

cells wrote: »

i believe i add wealth to my corporation, hence i do not fear for my job. Anyone who adds wealth via their job will be secure, hence why i said, if "mortgage advisers" add wealth they need not worry.

even if i lost my job i would not be here starting topics of "please support your local R&D team!" not would i be telling you about "my poor kids, what will they eat?"


good luck to you all, if you get fired understand that what you where doing, you where doing badly or the market had no need for you! re-tool , re-skill, & move on!

Next time I see my brother I am going to call out "Cells!!" when he's not looking and see if he responds.

He is also an engineer in R&D and he doesn't see the point in anyone else's job either!!!

He often complains to me that his firm's Sales Director earns more than he does when he has come up with things that have earned his company millions.

He doesn't like it when I tell him that, for the company to earn millions from a product it doesn't take someone to design it and manufacture it. It takes someone to sell it and ensure that it gets the distribution it deserves,

How many times have we seen someone on Dragons Den with a great idea for a product they can't shift. You can have as many great ideas as you like, but if you can't get people to buy it, your product is worthless.

In business sales volumes talk. That's why it is very easy to work out the value of a sales person to a business and much harder to guage the value of an R&D engineer.

My brother is, by the way, the first to rail at me about the way various companies have ripped him off with the products (not just but including financial) he has bought from them. Problem is, he rarely takes advice and does all his own research on the internet!

Having a father and a brother who are professional engineers means I am only too aware of how engineers are the only people who contribute to society and everyone else is in for a free ride doing things an engineer (even one who is not chartered) could do faster and cheaper with a slide rule!!!

Conrad

MortgageMamma wrote: »

advice profession.

I do not consider ours a 'profession'.

Teachers, Lawyers, Doctors and Electricians train for years BEFORE they are tet lose on the public.

Yes I undertake continuous professional development, but that still does not alter the fact one can wander inbto this job with some feable simple industry exam passes and be meeting the public within weeks.

We are miles from being a profession, to deny this would be delusional.