Getting a mortgage is a complicated business at the best of times, which is why it’s best to use an adviser to make sense of it all.
So, it doesn’t help the process if you are given poor quality advice does it?
But, this is exactly what is happening according to Which?
In an undercover survey of 50 advisers, Which? said that 41 had failed to provide one or more pieces of vital information required by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), while 35 failed to check that you could actually afford to repay the mortgage.
In total, 90% of firms were found to be letting you down!
The advisers included banks, estate agents and independent mortgage advisers in England and Scotland. Researchers posed as first time buyers looking for advice and a mortgage.
Which? said many advisers appeared more interested in selling insurance rather than giving tailored advice.
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Martyn Hocking, editor of Which? Money, said:
"Listening to people's needs and giving tailored advice should be the bread and butter of a mortgage adviser's job, but too many of the advisers that we visited took a 'one size fits all' approach or seemed as concerned with selling an insurance policy on the side."
"There are still more than 3,000 mortgage deals out there, and the difference in cost can be thousands of pounds a year, so it's vital people do their homework and choose their adviser with care."
One adviser also dismissed the key facts document giving details on a mortgage (and which they are required by the FSA to show customers), saying: "A lot of the stuff in there is just blah, blah, blah."
Wow, what incredibly helpful advice eh?!
Which? said it had reported the mortgage advisers that performed poorly to the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
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Chris Cummings, director general of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, said we need to understand the difference between impartial mortgage advisers and those who sell products, and this should have been made clear in the report.
He said: "Consumers must be made aware what they are receiving. Independent mortgage advisers provide advice that is wholly focused on the individual consumer's needs. In contrast, banks and building societies may offer only generic information."
"The study found that although there was a general failure among mortgage advisers to give acceptable mortgage advice those that performed best were independent mortgage advisers."
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But a spokesman for the British Bankers' Association said the researchers' experience of advice in bank branches was not typical saying:
"The Which? survey covered only 19 bank branches and we do not accept that the low standard of service reported by Which? reflects the overall level of service offered by bank mortgage advisers”
David Elms from unbiased.co.uk, which is the website for independent financial advisers (IFAs), stressed the importance of taking independent and impartial advice saying:
"Whole-of-market IFAs are the best-positioned of all advice types to serve consumers' needs when it comes to mortgage advice. As the housing market has begun to slow we have continued to see consumers putting their faith in IFAs to advise them on how to finance their home loans."
So, have you had poor service from a mortgage adviser? What did you do about it?
Why not let us know in the comments below?