Its borrower transfer stage facility is designed to help intermediaries stay compliant by giving them the necessary proof of how they advised their client when it comes to remortgaging.
The move, which it claims is a first in the market, is also accompanied by an ending of transfer fees, online key facts illustrations (KFIs) and an enhanced procuration fee of 0.32 per cent.
Linda Will, managing director of Accord, said: “With most lenders, when a pre-regulation mortgage comes to an end, they would still treat the new deal as unregulated. This would be bad for brokers as there is no KFI and it causes problems if researching other deals.
“By treating all mortgages as regulated, it simplifies the process and helps the broker prove what they have done with the client. Also the broker does a lot of work on the case so the procuration fee aims to reward them for that.”
The changes are due to be implemented over the next couple of months, with the enhanced procuration fee, up from 0.2 per cent, coming in first and the online KFI later on.
The move to end transfer fees between Accord products, which used to be £150, was instigated because of feedback from brokers, which labelled them ‘a kick in the teeth’ for the client.
Jason Richardson, director at YooToo Financial Services, said: “At the end of the day, we are still looking at the market and even if we decide to stick with the same mortgage lender, there is a lot of work. We are jumping through hoops to maintain the customer there so we should be rewarded as well as if we were giving them new business.
“If you are recommending staying put, then you want to do things like a KFI just to protect yourself so it’s all good news.”
