The site, designed by broker Jason Hegarty, mortgage adviser at Leiston Mortgage Centre, has been set up to allow brokers to discuss their experiences within the industry, with help and guidance provided by its members as part of an online community.
Hegarty confirmed the site’s main aim was to bring brokers together to share their concerns and experiences in the regulated market through an online forum and live chat facility on the site. He added the site would include a lender league table, where brokers can rate lenders in terms of service standards and will also have links to intermediary and lender websites, with details of what lenders offer, such as Key Facts Illustrations and decisions-in-principle.
Hegarty said: “I think the site is going to be a really big voice and bring the industry together. Brokers will benefit from finding out what other brokers think and I hope the site will have a broad range of advisers as members, giving a wide range of industry topics and opinions.”
He went on to confirm further additions to the site once it had become established, with plans to include a broker league table. “Members will be rewarded by other members for giving a helpful answer to a specific question. How many points you get will depend on how good your answers and knowledge is,” he added.
Hegarty said membership will be free for the first six months, with all members given a personalised e-mail address and inbox, allowing brokers who start a forum discussion to receive private replies from other members.
Speaking of the inclusion of a lender service league table, Harry Katz, principal at Norwest Consultants said: “1BigTable sounds like a good idea to me. Concerted pressure to improve provider service levels has to be a good thing.”
