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Offering seemingly low rate enticements to the unsuspecting public who will not be given the opportunity to receive unbiased advice is not in keeping with the spirit of TCF. Do others agree? Martin Benn, Style Insurance & Mortgage Services, West Sussex

Andrea Kinnear, FSA, London

Dear Martin,

Mortgage lenders are not obliged to deal through advisers, how they choose to price and distribute their products is a commercial matter for them. There have always been certain lenders who choose not to offer their products through advisers and others who differentiate pricing depending on the channel, for example offering exclusives to certain mortgage clubs or special internet-only rates. It follows from this that not every product on the market will necessarily be available to any one firm, something which our definition of whole of market takes into account. If certain lenders decide to offer their direct customers cheaper deals we do not see that customers' best interests would be served by preventing this. We agree it is important for customers to have clear information about the service on offer. To this end, we expect mortgage advisers to set out in their initial disclosure document the service they anticipate providing the customer with and what they propose to charge for that service. If, after considering all the products available to them, an adviser considers the best product he can offer is product X but the customer may be able to find a cheaper deal by looking at lenders' direct offerings, then he should say this. It is then up to the customer whether to take the recommended product or investigate the market further.

Brian Rossiter, Armchair Mortgages, Ellesmere Port

Dear Martin,

Mortgage advisers appreciate all lenders look to maximise profits with their lending criteria but surely there are more ethical ways to approach what everyone knows are hard times. Many advisers are of the opinion we are left to our own devices without receiving the support we expect and deserve from some of the biggest players in the market. As the market appears to be staying the same, it will be interesting to see how long some of the lenders keep offering better rates on the high street than the borrower can obtain through an adviser. One thing they need to keep in mind is loyalty works both ways so perhaps business from advisers will not be as forthcoming when the situation returns to normal.

Mike Perry, Homeloan Management, Skipton

Dear Martin,

At times like these, when there is limited availability of mortgages in the market, it is a commercial inevitability lenders will pick and choose both the customer they lend to and the means by which they deal with the case. As we all know, some customers choose to get advice from an adviser while others prefer to shop around themselves and go direct. If lenders for their part decide to favour the direct channel over introduced business, perhaps offering better rates, it is not an affront to TCF provided the lender jumps through all the relevant regulatory hoops in dealing with that customer direct. This may be unfortunate for advisers, and indeed this approach may do little to further the long-term relationship between intermediary and lender, but it is the lender's prerogative to do so.

Paul Fradgley, Evaluate Technologies, London

Dear Martin,

Intermediaries are currently under pressure as never before and now have to face an impossible dilemma: do they offer clients products they know to be sub-standard or do they advise the client to do direct to the lender and potentially look to charge them a fee for the privilege? Unfortunately, the most likely outcome is a significant reduction in the number of clients that request independent advice and a consequent reduction in the amount of research done; a point that is particularly true of less sophisticated customers. Given the complexity of the market this will certainly reduce the number of consumers that achieve a fair deal, one of the FSA's three main stated objectives. Most intermediaries are somewhat perplexed to read the FSA's reported stance on dual pricing, which has resulted in a distinct lack of intermediary confidence.

Steven Marks, Newcastle Building Society, Newcastle

Dear Martin,

At the Newcastle we absolutely recognise the critical role intermediaries play in the mortgage market and that is why we are committed to growing our business through them. However, the question posed is a bit of a smokescreen. The real issue that is causing disquiet is some lenders are operating a policy of differential pricing between direct cases and introduced. Advisers understandably do not like it. But, for a moment, let us consider the TCF question. Hector Sants at the FSA touched on this at the Building Societies Association's annual conference when he said this was a commercial matter for lenders and "if certain lenders decide to offer their direct customers cheaper deals, we do not see that customers best interests would be served by preventing this". The fact some lenders are offering different rates all stems from the current market difficulties. With funding being a more difficult, and expensive, issue for many lenders they are being more cautious on the volume of lending they want to do and the terms on which they want to do it. That, for some, means pursuing the most profitable forms of lending, which means more direct lending at the expense of introduced lending.