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Paul Monk, partner of Southport-based IFA Balmoral Associates, said he had been using Cheltenham & Gloucester recently because of a new product that enabled the client to change from tracker to fix if they so wished.

Mr Monk said: "C&G has a scheme called an All Weather Mortgage.

"With this product, you can take out a tracker rate which is 0.99 per cent more than the base rate for three years but at any time during the three-year period you can switch, at no cost, to a fixed rate.

"This is really a bit of a halfway house because you do not know which way interest rates are going to go. So, in other words, if rates go down you can stick with the tracker and if rates were going up you can jump into the fix.

"There was no problem with the service. Although it has an online system, which is not the best, paper-based it is good. It responds quite quickly.

"Overall it is fine and not a problem. Actually the new scheme serves a purpose at this moment in time because people do not want to go from fixed to tracker and in the industry no-one knows which way interest rates are going to go."

Lender says...

Eleanor Ross, media relations manager of Cheltenham & Gloucester, said: "It is great to hear positive feedback on the products we are offering.

"The All Weather Mortgage has proved to be very popular. It was designed to help homeowners in this uncertain climate and demonstrates our commitment to offering innovative products to the intermediary market.

"We have made some significant changes to how our intermediary operations work in order to speed up how applications are processed and this is something we will continue to concentrate on.

"We launched our online service last year and have designed it based on what advisers told us they wanted. We appreciated intermediary feedback on the tool as we are always looking to make improvements."

FACT

Cheltenham & Gloucester has been part of the Lloyds TSB Group since 1995.

Stonehaven Equity Release

Colin Patterson, an IFA for Norfolk-based Capital Tower, said he used Stonehaven a lot for his equity release clients and found that not only did they have the whole application process down to a fine art but their products were pretty good as well.

Mr Patterson said: "The whole thing for me was very good. I did not have any problems at all. With the whole system, from getting the key facts illustration to completion it was pretty quick.

"In the main, I do not have any problems with it at all. I have been very satisfied with the rates, the products and the flexibility.

"Within a couple of days of submitting the application it had gone to valuation. We got that valuation back electronically and probably within a few days of getting it back we got the offer.

"Stonehaven has done the research on this and has got it down to a fine art. On top of this it also has the products. I have used others, but for me Stonehaven is the way forward."

Lender says...

Jayne Almond, chief executive of Stonehaven Equity Release, said: "We are very pleased with the outcome of this mystery shopping experience. It reflects our commitment to providing a customer-focused and market appropriate product range alongside an adviser focused operations and service offering.

"Our research at the end of last year indicated more advisers were looking at getting into the equity release market and we have certainly seen this growth coming through in the number of advisory firms signing up in the first six months of this year.

"We are keen to support advisers by providing an experience that is as seamless as possible and we will continue to evolve our business in line with consumer needs and market conditions."

FACT

Stonehaven is a specialist equity release provider and was launched in August 2006.