Pink Home Loans keeps its seat at the top, marking nine of the 10 past years as a five-star provider, and six on the trot.
In second place once more was BM Solutions, which narrowly missed out and boasts an impressive record in the top ranks, having also spent nine of the past 10 years as a five-star provider.
The rest of the five-star category for excellent service is largely made up of past five-star winners, with just one new entrant, NatWest Intermediary Solutions, making the grade after two-years as a four-star provider.
The rest of the group is made up of regular top-performers. The Mortgage Works has made the top tier for the past six consecutive years, Just Retirement for the past five, Nationwide Building Society for the past four and Aldermore for the past two years.
Pink Home Loans came out on top in feedback, product knowledge and flexible criteria.
Four-star winners
This year’s four-star ranking is made up of two newcomers, four regulars to good service, one promotion and a relegation from the top tier.
Stonehaven and Precise both marked their first year of entrance with strong four-star finishes.
Skipton Building Society will be disappointed to have slipped down to the second tier.
Principality Building Society, which finished runner-up in this category, has now secured a four-star spot for seven consecutive years, as has Coventry Building Society.
Nottingham Building Society and Hodge Lifetime also secured four stars for another year, the latter after being ranked as a two-star provider in 2011 and 2010.
Three-star winners
This year’s most populated group is the three-star table, which has increased by four since 2012 to reach 12 providers.
Top of the table is newcomer Santander, which joins Aviva and Clydesdale as new entrants for the 2013 Mortgage Services Awards.
LV= has seen its standing plummet this year after having spent the past two years as a five-star company.
Three companies have also slipped down from the four-star category. This includes Scottish Widows Bank, which was there for two years, and Platform and Lloyds TSB.
There was also room, however, for three firms to move up the ranks. Kensington, All Types of Mortgages and Accord will all be pleased to have lost the tag of poor service – the latter having finished bottom of the two-star category last year.
Two-star winners
Norwich & Peterborough tops the table in the two-star category for poor service after a five-year absence from the Service Awards.
Barclays is another provider which marks a five-year absence with a two-star return, though the banks’ last appearance registered just one star for very poor service.
Just one company remains from last year’s two-star table – Yorkshire Building Society has received two stars for the past three years. Leeds Building Society, Paragon, Cheltenham & Gloucester and Bridgewater Equity Release all dropped one category in 2013.
One-star winners
Only four companies made it into the lowest mortgage category in 2013, which includes a difficult year for Newcastle Building Society.
