Forum sets up thread to share broker grievances towards providers
Broker and mortgage adviser forum, Cherry has created a dedicated thread for brokers to suggest how lenders and providers can help intermediaries more.
This comes after Cherry received user requests to create a space where mortgage advisers could cite their frustrations and suggestions and encourage lenders and providers to listen and change.
The thread will only be accessible by brokers who wish to guide providers towards a much better understanding of what works well and what needs fixing.
An example being that a broker raised the point of preferring lenders to refrain from notifying the client by text when a mortgage offer is issued, at the same time they email the broker with the news.
They explained: “The happy moment of telling a client that their offer has been issued is a nice positive and some lenders even steal that from us now.
“They do not tell clients when a case is declined so they also should not do instant notifications about offers.”
Other examples included issues relating to ‘pointless’ queries by underwriters, use of the phone rather than writing, product withdrawal timeframes, honesty in terms of timescales, use of pre-valuation services, and having common terms for criteria.
Cherry has also called on providers to start making use of their own provider forum areas on the website.
However, the forum said many more need to come on board so that the industry can communicate both horizontally and vertically, in turn speeding up the improvement process.
Donna Hopton, director of Cherry, said: “It will be clear to anyone who has read the Cherry broker forum over the past two years that communication between brokers and providers needs improving.
“It’s important to stress that this extends beyond just lenders: it covers the whole gamut of providers including IFA product providers as well as networks, IT providers and many more.
“At Cherry we’re increasingly finding that mortgage advisers want us to channel their feedback through to providers as they seem hugely frustrated by what may possibly be viewed as collective deafness across the provider community to intermediary concerns.”
alina.khan@ft.com
