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It is at times such as these that trade bodies really earn their crust. When things are going well there is no need to ruffle any feathers. If your members are pulling in the pounds then no-one really cares about some new European objective you have been campaiging for in Brussels. For all they care you can spend members' money on as many jollies to conferences as you like.

The credit crunch has changed all that. Now the whole industry is eagerly awaiting the next move from the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries. For some firms, their very survival rests in the hands of Ami. A war of words over the role of advisers has been raging fiercely for a month now. Advisers have been slowly cut out of the loop by lenders who want to reduce their lending. It has been nigh on impossible for them to keep up with rate changes. Exclusive deals have all but disappeared. In some cases advisers have been shut out from doing business at all. Considering 70 per cent of all mortgage deals came from advisers last year – and they have pumped billions of pounds in to the coffers of banks and building societies – it is a pretty shoddy way for them to be treated. That said, you can forgive consumers for shouting "Welcome to the party".

We have known for years where the real power lays. The customer may be always right, but it is the banks that always make the money. Anyway, Ami is fighting the corner of its members by calling for regulatory action to ensure advisers get a fair crack of the whip. If some smaller lenders are starting to suffer in these tough times, then imagine the knock-on effect this has on advisers. What has not helped is the comments at last week's Mortgage Expo from Jonathan Fischel, head of mortgage and credit unions for the FSA. He suggested direct deals could be more competitive for consumers. Ami protested but only along the lines of how this would affect tied salespeople, as opposed to independents.

If Ami is to make any headway in this battle it needs to get on the side of the consumer. The FSA does not care about the finances of regulated firms. You are in a free market and you must live and die by forces that are imposed on you. What the FSA does care about is consumer detriment. When consumers start losing out MPs start to kick up a fuss. When MPs get angry they start making threats to the regulators. So anyone from the FSA should take note now: there is a massive consumer detriment here. Key facts illustrations and credit scoring have made it impossible for consumers to shop around.

These are two elements of the financial system the FSA has actively promoted. With no ability to shop around, consumers will lose out on the best deals. With whole per cents separating the best from worst deals homeowners could find themselves hundreds of pounds out of pocket each month if they make a bad decision - a decision based on the fact they could not get access to a full range of rates. It would take hours to go to the high street and shop around for a mortgage. You would have to produce a fact find at every bank you visited and each time you had to apply for a mortgage you would leave a dirty great mark on your credit file. So here is a message to Ami: Fight the corner for consumers and advisers will be back in business.

Standardised failures

Just seven out of every 100 endowments with Standard Life will pay off a mortgage. That leaves a whopping 93 per cent facing a shortfall. Of course, this is a problem we knew existed. But just when we thought things could not get much worse they have.

Just a couple of years ago then chief executive Sandie Crombie was telling MPs 86 per cent of the insurer’s endowments would not cover a home loan. The situation never seems to get any better. Standard Life does have a £1bn fund set aside to pay out to 500,000 policyholders. But with more than 1m on their books there are nearly twice as many as this that are going to need help. What with this, a lack of FSA oversight for years, past mis-selling of these investments by some providers and downright inept asset management hundreds at certain insurers thousands of homeowners are still paying the price for taking out an endowment.

All's fair in love and print

I am sick of press offices that think some newspapers have got it in for them. Yes, times are tough; journalists know it. But that does not mean shoddy treatment of customers will be tolerated. Until you start bringing out better products and treating customers complaints with understanding and haste then you will keep getting a rough ride. Be warned.