Why does the Halifax want advisors to stop calling?

August 12, 2020 by Brendan O'Neill

Mortgage Advisors

Halifax Intermediaries is asking mortgage advisors not to call in with enquiries about cases unless they are urgent, citing delays to mortgage processing.

The building society is stating that when it has to deal with a large number of phone enquiries from advisors, it is harder to process ongoing applications for loans on time.

Ian Wilson, head of Halifax Intermediaries, has sent out an email to all the advisors concerned, asking them to consider whether it is really essential to contact the lender in this fashion. The email also requests that they find the information they need on the internet if possible.

This request to advisors has come at a time when the Halifax and many other major mortgage lenders in the UK are issuing a large number of updates to the criteria and prices of their products, and it is likely that this is leading to the large volume of calls they are receiving from advisors.

Many advisors have also been arguing publicly that the amount of time that they are being forced to wait on behalf of their clients for some of these lenders to come to a decision about a loan is too long. This shows that advisors with CeMAP training are committed to getting loans for their clients at all costs.

Wilson appears to be aware of this, as his email states that making sure all relevant supporting files are uploaded along with the application when it is submitted enables the building society to come to a quicker decision.