Trusting your mortgage broker

When you go to a broker for a mortgage, you have to be able to put yourself in their hands, and trust that they will find the best mortgage that you can get.

But the FSA has fined three mortgage brokers for inadequate sales procedures which meant they could not demonstrate that they had recommended affordable mortgage contracts that met their clients’ needs.

The fines were £14,700 for Mohammad Rana, registered as Countrywide Management Consultancy based in Oxford, £11,900 for Peter Scott trading as the Mortgage House in Horsham and Portslade, and £10.500 for Chariot Mortgage Services Limited in Sale.

The FSA said all three mortgage brokers failed to gather adequate customer information, including personal and financial information, to demonstrate the suitability of their advice.

This is absolutely crucial to finding the best product for the client!

Chariot also held itself out as sourcing contracts from the whole of the market, which in practice was not the case. So clients weren't getting the service they expected.

You have to be able to trust your mortgage broker. Clearly that wasn't the case here.