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The shopper is a first-time buyer who wants to buy a home with their partner. They are looking to relocate to Oxford for work. Their combined income is £40,000 with no bonus scheme. Recently the shopper has received a £15,000 inheritance, which he will use as a deposit. The shopper has a generally good credit history, but is worried about the chances of affording or finding a mortgage amid all the recent media reports.

Westbourne Financial Services

Oxford, OX2 9HF

No web presence

Speed of response: Time of call: 11.38am. The call was answered swiftly after three rings by an adviser.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Telephone manner: The adviser was polite and professional yet also relaxed and friendly.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Qualifications: The adviser did not give specific details about his qualifications but did volunteer information on how he had 24 years of experience and that he was independent.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Payment method: The adviser explained he charged no fee for an initial consultation. He said he was usually paid a procuration fee by the lender selected but expected a minimum of £500, so anything below that amount from the lender would result in the client paying the shortfall.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Guidance: The adviser asked the shopper a few sensible questions regarding his financial situation. He was reassuring about media reports and claimed although mortgages were becoming less available for some people, the fact the shopper had a deposit meant there should be no problem in him finding a sufficient deal. The adviser suggested the shopper find out exactly how much he could borrow before looking at houses and suggested they arrange a meeting to discuss the options available.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Knowledge: The adviser clearly knew what he was talking about and was able to put the shopper at ease with his knowledge and experience of the market.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Verdict: Despite the fact the adviser was on his day off, he was more than willing to chat to the shopper and offer him some friendly advice. The adviser knew the market and was able to reassure the shopper that he should not worry about the media frenzy too much. He explained even before doing a thorough assessment of the shopper's 'affordability', the fact he had a significant deposit should work in his favour.

Rating: 24/30 stars

Lesley Long Financial Consultancy,

Oxford, OX3 9TU

No web presence

Speed of response: Time of call: 11.56am. The adviser answered after five rings.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Telephone manner: When the adviser first answered the telephone she was quite short and abrupt with the shopper. At first, she sounded unimpressed to be talking on the telephone, however she quickly warmed up and in fact became very pleasant to speak to.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Qualifications: Qualifications were not mentioned or discussed.

Rating: 0/5 stars

Payment: The question of payment was never brought up during the short conversation.

Rating: 0/5 stars

Guidance: The adviser was not too keen to offer advice over the telephone but preferred to arrange a meeting. When the shopper said he only wanted some brief guidance the adviser obligingly rattled off some quick information, however she neglected to ask the shopper for any specific details of his situation. The shopper volunteered said information. The adviser explained about multiplying the shopper's combined salary by four. She also mentioned the fact other fees, such as legal fees and building society fees, should also be taken into account.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Knowledge: The adviser seemed to be very knowledgeable, however the shopper was unable to ascertain this for sure as the adviser was not willing to go into much detail.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Verdict: Although the adviser started off the conversation a bit icily, she soon relaxed and her tone softened. However, despite giving the shopper snippets of information regarding the mortgage market she still demonstrated an unwillingness to go into too much detail unless the meeting was held face to face.

Rating: 12/30 stars

Terry Humphreys Mortgage Services,

Banbury, OX15

www.terryhumphreys.co.uk

Speed of response: Time of call: 12.14pm. The adviser answered the call after three rings.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Telephone manner: The adviser was very professional, friendly and polite.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Qualifications: When prompted the adviser explained how he was totally independent and a fully qualified financial adviser. He said he specialised in mortgages, and had the FPC one, two and three, and CeMAP qualifications.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Payment method: The adviser said that payment depended on the complexity of the case. In this scenario, as the shopper was a first-time buyer, he said he would not charge a fee as the case should be fairly straightforward.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Guidance: The adviser explained over the telephone he would only be able to give generic advice and anything more specific would require a meeting. The adviser asked the shopper about his situation regarding salary, deposit and the house prices he was looking at. He explained how on average lenders loan about four-times joint salary. He mentioned that if the shopper had any existing debts the lender would deduct this annual payment from the shopper's income before working out how much to lend. The adviser talked about affordability and told the shopper there were no longer any 100 per cent LTV deals and how the majority of 95 per cent LTV mortgages were shrinking to 90 per cent. He assured the shopper as long as he had a good credit record and a decent deposit, there should be no problem.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Knowledge: The adviser was clearly very knowledgeable and gave the shopper more than enough information, especially for what he considered to be just an overview.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Verdict: The shopper was very impressed by the adviser who was approachable and clearly specialised in the mortgage market. He was quick to put the shopper at ease and managed to cover a lot of information in a short period without making it seem overwhelming.

Rating: 27/30 stars