This week the mystery shopper wants to find out what the remortgage options are for her property – a first-floor leasehold maisonette, which only has 62 years left on the lease, but has about £80,000 of equity.
Adviser: Kingston Financial Services (Whole of the market)
Address: 77 Wildtree Avenue, Wolverhampton, WV10 8NL
Speed of response (time of call): 2.39pm. Three rings before call answered. 5/5
Telephone manner: The caller had to ask if she was speaking to Kingston Financial Service as the adviser did not announce his firm, but he was friendly. 4/5
Relevant qualifications: CeMAP qualification in mortgage and protection advice. 5/5
Payment method: Fee dependent on the level of work required and if a remortgage is agreed. 4/5
Guidance given: The adviser explained the current state of the interest-only mortgage market. He was also able to explain what could happen to the shopper’s equity stake in the event she took out the new mortgage with a partner who she then later broke up with. However, the adviser did not seem to know about the options for extending the lease. 3/5
Knowledge: Although the adviser was mostly knowledgeable, there were a few gaps, particularly in relation to questions about the leasehold nature of the property. 3/5
Web/email presence: Email: noel.kelleher@kingstonfs.co.uk. The firm's consultants prefer face-to-face and phone contact. 2/5
Verdict: The adviser was knowledgeable in the main, but appeared to struggle a little when the caller explained about her leasehold circumstances. Not having a website also made the caller feel less confident about the firm.
26/35
Adviser: Right Mortgage Company (whole of the market)
Address: 3 Mickleton, Staffordshire, B77 4QY
Speed of response (time of call): 2.55pm. Two rings, then spoke to an employee who transferred the caller to another adviser. 4/5
Telephone manner: Friendly and polite. 5/5
Relevant qualifications: The caller spoke to an adviser in training who said to take matters further she would be transferred to a CeMAP qualified colleague. 4/5
Payment method: Option of fee on mortgage completion or procuration fee from the lender. 5/5
Guidance given: The 'in training' adviser was able to explain the various options available to the caller, in particular she wanted to extend her leasehold as part of her mortgage or borrow separately to extend the lease. He was able to advise that in some cases the conveyancing lawyer could hold onto the extra equity after the remortgage to administer the payment for the lease extension. 4/5
Knowledge: The adviser was still in training was knowledgeable and was able to answer all the questions posed with confidence. 4/5
Web/email presence: www.therightmortgagecompany.co.uk
enquiries@therightmortgagecompany.co.uk 5/5
Verdict: Shopper’s choice. The adviser was friendly, polite and very knowledgeable about the caller’s options, despite not being a fully fledged adviser.
31/35
Adviser: Darwin Financial Management (Whole of the market)
Address: 24 St John's Hill, Shrewsbury, SY1 1JJ
Speed of response (time of call): 3.47pm. Four rings before put through to an adviser. 5/5
Telephone manner: Friendly and polite, but sounded a bit distracted. 4/5
Relevant qualifications: CII qualified to give mortgage advice. CeMAP qualification from the Institute of Bankers. 5/5
Payment method: The caller would have to pay 0.5 per cent of the mortgage or a procuration fee. The caller had to ask the adviser several times before he explained clearly. 3/5
Guidance given: The adviser told the caller there was a possibility of getting a remortgage even with the low number of years left on the lease. However, he was unable to give detailed advice about getting the lease extension. 4/5
Knowledge: The adviser was knowledgeable about mortgage options, but did not seem as confident when they spoke about leasehold extension. 3/5
Email/web presence: www.darwindirect.co.uk roy.munn@darwindirect.co.uk 5/5
Verdict: Although he gave some advice about mortgage options, the caller felt she drove a lot of the conversation as the adviser did not ask her enough questions to make her feel sufficiently confident to proceed with him.
29/35
Lender: HSBC
Speed of response (time of call): 3.18pm. One ring. First transferred to automated line then after one ring the caller was put through to a customer services representative. 5/5
Telephone manner: Polite. 4/5
Relevant qualifications: Trained representative would take details and then, if the caller decided to go further with HSBC, she would be put in touch with a CeMAP qualified mortgage adviser. 4/5
Payment method: Mortgage repayment to lender. 5/5
Guidance given: The representative sounded like she was following a script and when questioned about the options the caller was put on hold for about three minutes. However, when she came back she was able to provide clear information. She was able to advise the caller that she could in principle get a mortgage with HSBC as long as at the end of the mortgage term there was still 30 years left on the lease. 3/5
Knowledge: Although well spoken, the representative was unable to answer all the questions put to her without consultation. 4/5
Email/web presence: www.hsbc.co.uk 3/5
Verdict: The customer services representative communicated well with the shopper, but there were clear gaps in her knowledge.
28/35
Each week the mystery shopper seeks advice from independent advisers in the UK. The aim is to find out whether advisers are delivering the goods when it comes to the all-important initial telephone contact between client and adviser. It is only intended to evaluate this first interview, and it is understood that further meetings would be necessary before final decisions could be made. The purpose is not to expose poor selling practices, but to show constructively any weaknesses in the advice process.
