Mortgage advice is unclear according to mystery shop

August 10, 2015 by Brendan O'Neill

Mortgage Advisors

Following the introduction of stricter lending rules, mortgage advice is still unclear according to the results of a mystery shop carried out on

mortgage providers.

In April 2014, the Mortgage https://www.beaconfinancialtraining.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cemap-online-and-classroom-training-uk.jpget Review was introduced to ensure that people are offered mortgage products suitable for their circumstances and avoid lending irresponsibly. The rules make sure that mortgage applicants pass stricter affordability tests and many will receive advice as part of their application.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wanted to make sure that lenders were providing advice to borrowers which was suitable, so arranged a mystery shopping assignment. According to the results of the mystery shop, 59 per cent of mortgage applicants were given advice which was suitable, three per cent received advice which was unsuitable and the remainder were unclear about whether the advice was suitable. The FCA said that companies needed to obtain more information from customers about their requirements and circumstances to enable them to provide suitable advice to each client. Mortgage advisers are required to undertake training to ensure that they are able to offer appropriate advice to customers, called a CeMAP Course.

According to the findings of the mystery shop, the basis for the recommendations in over a third of the cases was unclear, so the FCA was unable to decide whether the mortgage advice was suitable for the customers. The FCA stated that some companies were introducing changes designed to make the process clearer and be able to offer an improved customer service.