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In a moment of weakness over a cup of tea I decided to chill out for lunch only to be interrupted by an adviser asking me to look at an FTAdviser blog. Remortgage grumblings was the title. Go to it. It’s hilarious

It’s not FA features writer Anna Lawlor's scenario that is hilarious - let us face it remortgaging is a stressful business - it was actually the response of so-called IFAs that was stunning. Thankfully there were a few professionals attending the blog who continued to add sense into a bewildering display, of what, at best can be described as adviser prostitution and embarrassment.

Holding the fort for the professionals were only eight IFAs. Simon Smillie hit many of the issues on the head along with Martin Evans, Helen, Deborah, John, Simon Hall, CM and Niraj.

Anna had arranged her own remortgage and had discovered it was not as easy as it should be.

There were a number of things that surprised me by the responses.

It was not the number of Donkey lookalikes from Shrek jumping up and screaming "Pick me, pick me". It was not the street corner mortgage brokers saying "I’ll do it for free". It was not the hard done by broker who said they now have to approach "two or three lenders to get a mortgage through". It is none of them. But while those advisers hop between solitaire and the numerous blogs in an attempt to fill the day up, the professionals got to the point. No-one, however, asked Anna. No-one sought to ask her the key questions, you know, like you do when you meet someone for the first time - factfinding questions!

And so I decided not to respond until now. To clear the IFA, he would not have made a penny out of the situation. The mortgage was arranged and as a good broker would know, rates are being pulled every day.

From reading the blog, it appears as if the IFA pushed every day and by acting quickly the adviser ensured Anna had the right deal in place. The adviser had appeared to have sent the IDD and other documents by email and post to speed everything up.

Anna also changed her mortgage needs well into the arrangement and chose her own solicitor then changed him after realising her own solicitor was going to have extortionate fees.

As you will know that usually involves another offer again - most IFAs would be pulling their hair out by now. Lastly the issue with the names was caused by the bank or solicitor not getting the names correct initially, not the IFA.

The whole process was challenging, but the IFA's fee - along with the £600 - would have been way short of the fees charged by the others and of his normal fee for such work, after I had a conversation with Anna.

There is something to be learned here for all IFAs. First, do not prostitute yourself as an adviser if you do not offer a fee or charge one. Second, it is clear from this that customers do not understand what advisers do and as such the value proposition is not grasped so its easy to see why someone might get distracted with £600 procuration fees. The adviser just needs to spell out what they are doing and the customer needs to take time to understand.

Peter McGahan is managing director of Worldwide Financial Planning