Mortgage Complaints Bureau

A claims management firm has warned that the misselling of self-certification mortgages is set to spark the next wave of controversy in the financial services arena.

The firm also hit out at financial services industry incompetence in managing the impact of the misselling of payment protection insurance (PPI) policies in the UK.

Commonly sold to the self-employed without any requisite proof of income, the self-certification mortgage loans were a classic reflection of the financial services industry’s focus in recent years on individual affordability, as opposed to underwriting on the basis of borrower income, when it comes to assessing mortgage loan risks.

A spokesman said it had already seeing a steady trickle of fines being levied for self-certificated mortgage misselling but this was only the beginning.

He explained: “Once again the authorities are not publicly acknowledging the problem. But this is yet another hornets nest which, once stirred, is going to sting the reputation of the financial services industry as a result of governance shortcomings.

He said the lack of a structure enabling those with concerns to relay their views and seek immediate action to strike back at the misselling culture, was coming back to haunt the industry.

He concluded: “Until a suitable mechanism is put in place, fiascos of this kind are going to re-occur time after time.”

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is forecasting that mortgage complaints will rise by 78% over the next 12 months. The increase in complaints is expected to follow tighter mortgage lending criteria and higher repossessions.

The FOS report states: “Some issues relating to sales and contract terms will emerge as customers reach the end of existing deals and find renewal terms unattractive. And there is the potential for a significant volume of disputes around mortgage late payment charges and other similar charges.”

The FOS expects that most mortgage complaints will be about lenders rather than mortgage brokers. However, with property prices plummeting as well as interest rates, many borrowers stuck on high fixed rates at high loan to values, will feel that they have been disadvantaged.

We are pleased to announce that the Mortgage Complaints Bureau website has been launched today.

With a clear aim and highly trained staff we hope to provide a valuable service to all mortgage borrowers who feel they have a valid mortgage complaint against their mortgage broker or financial adviser.

Whilst consumers are free to complain to their broker or adviser, our research has shown a strong need for assistance with mortgage complaints due to the technical nature of a mortgage. Borrowers feel they are sometimes unable to understand the exact depth of their claim with an inability to correctly present their claim in full.

Our mortgage complaints service will undertake all of the work needed to present a case to the selling adviser and, if necessary, follow this through to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

Importantly, our service is solely for missold mortgages where advice has been given by a mortgage broker or financial adviser. Our website has comprehensive information on our service and includes:

• Our complaints service
• Our fee structure