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Many lenders have come under fire in recent months for the withdrawal of products with little or no notice, raising interest rates on products and pricing differently between the direct to consumer and intermediary channels.

However, as Mortgage Adviser launches the questionnaire for sister newspaper Financial Adviser's Service Awards, which allows advisers to rate who has delivered top assistance this year, John Cupis, head of mortgages and general insurance for Sesame, said he did not believe it had been a "conscious decision" by lenders to let service levels slip.

He said: "I do not know why would anyone want to do that. It would not be in keeping with their obligations to treat customers fairly. "The volume and credit constraints lenders are under mean those that want to lend find themselves with very strong volumes and they cannot cope."

Stephen Smith, director of housing for Legal & General, said the product withdrawals and repricing had been "very much" part of extraordinary market conditions no one had faced before.

He said: "Lenders that have remained in the market are now doing bigger volumes than they have been used to and therefore it is putting their operations under some strain."

Rob Clifford, chief executive of Mortgageforce, said the credit crunch had turned lenders' attention away from service levels.

He said: "The reality of the credit crunch is lenders have been less concerned about erratic service levels and consequent adviser dissatisfaction."

Peter O'Donovan, mortgage adviser for London-based IFA Bestinvest, said: "In the early days of the credit crunch service across the whole of the market was appalling and maybe we can have some sympathy but there was still a reduction in applications being processed."

But Alex Murray, group director of mortgages for Thinc Group, said: "Certain lenders have managed to control volumes and retain service levels, while others have wheeled out the credit crunch as the reason for poor service."