An Open Letter To Mortgage Brokers.

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Comments

  • arkie
    arkie Posts: 153 Forumite
    Martin...
    you are missing the point totally, as a broker I get people ringing me up saying they want a certain type of mortgage because that money saving fellow recommended us to do it. These people think you are qualified to give advice, as you will be aware that to be giving mortgage advice or what can be seen as mortgage advice you have to be regulated by the FSA. I have taken time to write to the FSA about journalists talking about mortgages as I feel that after over 20 years in the industry I want to protect my industry and my client from bad advice. PLease remember Martin please look upto you and some are foolish enough to believe everything you say. 3-5 months ago you were 'advising' people to fixe their mortgage, fix thier gas bills !!!! now you are telling people to 'ditch the fix' ,.
    You should have a diclaimer stating that you are NOT qualified to give advice when you appear on the radio /tv.
    As Ive posted before Martin if you want to give advice get qualified and get regulated to give advice. Put you money where you mouth is
    I am a Whole of Market Mortgage Adviser
    You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it.
    This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser code of conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.
  • Gorgeous_George
    Gorgeous_George Posts: 7,964 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    And Whole of Market Mortgage advisers should make it clear that they are not WHOLE of Market. There are some deals that they will not offer because there is little or no commission or the deal may be available solely at branches of the lender.

    As for 'fee-free'! I don't work for nothing and wouldn't expect my adviser to do so.

    GG
    There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those that don't.
  • lethal0r
    lethal0r Posts: 408 Forumite
    arkie wrote: »
    3-5 months ago you were 'advising' people to fixe their mortgage, fix thier gas bills !!!! now you are telling people to 'ditch the fix'

    Im sure many brokers have said exactly the same to their clients. Whats your point? Brokers are never wrong? A broker would not say that?

    FSA regulation does not mean you can give better advice than Martin, it is there to (ideally) stop you giving bad advice.

    All you can say to your client is 'this might happen, that might happen. this is my advice to you but ultimately its your decision'.
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 46,957 Ambassador
    Academoney Grad Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary
    arkie wrote:
    now you are telling people to 'ditch the fix' ,.

    I thought professionals were meant to read the detail, rather than jump on the headline.

    Martin is suggesting people should look at whether, for their own individual circumstances, it would be worth ditching the fix.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on The Coronavirus Boards as well as the housing, mortgages and student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • EdInvestor
    EdInvestor Posts: 15,749 Forumite
    arkie wrote: »
    These people think you are qualified to give advice, as you will be aware that to be giving mortgage advice or what can be seen as mortgage advice you have to be regulated by the FSA.

    Qualified and regulated are two different things. Regulated people give specific "advice" for money about a product. Many knowledgeable and experienced people such as Martin may offer information and opinion on the same product, but not for money. They may be regarded as qualified, but are not regulated.

    You are confusing the two.

    There is nothing to stop anyone at all having an opinion or offering information about mortgages.It is up to the reader to judge the credibility of that person.

    But if you want to sell someone a mortgage, it's a different matter.The sooner we stop confusing "sales" with "advice" , the better.That's the real issue, IMHO.
    Trying to keep it simple...;)
  • minimike2
    minimike2 Posts: 2,210 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    But you MUST be qualified AND regulated to offer "advice" on mortgages.

    Martin is neither.
  • payless
    payless Posts: 6,957 Forumite
    Name Dropper Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
    Gorgeous_George wrote: »
    And Whole of Market Mortgage advisers should make it clear that they are not WHOLE of Market. There are some deals that they will not offer because there is little or no commission or the deal may be available solely at branches of the lender.

    As for 'fee-free'! I don't work for nothing and wouldn't expect my adviser to do so.

    GG

    I started a thread / campaign on this point (you may have to pay to get "true WoM) 6 months ago, but its was not given as much publicity as the recent soundbite... maybe because the big brokers and cashback sites mentioned did not work that way
    Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as (financial) advice.
  • payless
    payless Posts: 6,957 Forumite
    Name Dropper Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
    however thats off topic.
    Hate mail death threats !!!! are totally out of order

    There is a lot about Martin's articles I disagree with , but there is also much I do agree with - thats life-

    Yes I think journo's are saying /printing things that are really advice and that should be reviewed, unfortunately my application to the FSA Consumer Panel was rejected!
    Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as (financial) advice.
  • koexelek
    koexelek Posts: 7,847 Forumite
    lethal0r wrote: »
    Very true. Any intelligent person who is good with figures will know 95% of what a broker knows about mortgages.

    Why don't they become brokers themselves then ?

    After all, it's such a p*ss easy job, and you make a least £3000 commission per case by stitching the client up :rolleyes:
    I am a Mortgage adviser
    You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.
  • Chez_Guevara
    Chez_Guevara Posts: 33 Forumite
    I'm a mortgage broker - and I think the key word in that for me has always been 'broker'. By that, I mean I'm a rate !!!!!!.

    I have always prided myself on getting the best deal for clients, and in that sense this website is very much in line with that ethos. And if someone can get a better rate by going direct to a bank or building society, then the best advice is to go direct. Likewise, if someone is coming up to the end of a mortgage deal, and the fees etc don't really make a remortgage worth doing - then the best advice is to stay where you are.

    I think that most brokers are the same, or at least I hope they are. That is one of the reasons why I personally am struggling so much in this Credit Crunch. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to say 'Stay where you are' to clients, having put in the work to research the best deals available for them. My bread and butter 'remortgage' work, saving clients money at the end of their deals has died on its !!!! this year. There are still some people I can help, but not as many.

    But if you live by the sword, you die by it too. You can't tell everyone to use you when you have the best rates, and then tell everyone to still use you when you don't.

    However, there are still many circumstances when using a broker is the best option - just keep an eye on the fees.

    One word as to qualified / unqualified - I think Martin is doing a tremendous job in what he's doing. However, the difference is that if I give advice and it backfires - clients can put in a complaint to me, followed by the FSA / Financial Ombudsman. So in a sense they are protected to some degree against 'bad' advice. If a reader acts on advice by a journalist, they're on their own if it all goes wrong!

    I think therefore the message to everyone (which I'm sure Martin would agree) is DO YOUR RESEARCH. It never fails to surprise me how many of my clients trust me blindly with whatever I tell them - fortunately, I have never (and will never) abuse that trust, even if it means my business hitting the wall. But the temptation must be there for some brokers, in dire financial straits, with lower morals than me!
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