Findings by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), revealed endowment mortgage complaints dropped in 2005-2006, while complaints regarding the mortgage market, non-endowment related, rose.
AMI members expressed their concern that mortgage clients could be targeted in the future as claims management companies look at other market areas.
Rob Griffiths, associate director at AMI, said: “It is encouraging to see the vast majority of AMI members have received no complaints since ‘Mortgage Day’. Having said that, complaints against mortgage intermediaries have risen since the days of the MCCB and indeed our members expect them to increase in the coming years. Claims management companies will clearly be looking for other sectors to target as the number of mortgage endowment complaints plateau. AMI members feel their mortgage clients will be targeted in the future.”
Peter O’Donovan, mortgage manager at Bestinvest, said: “I don’t think mortgage intermediaries should have anything to worry about. It took 20 years before endowment complaints came to fruition, and I don’t think there are the products out there for another potential scandal.”
AMI has also confirmed it is compiling its response to the funding of the FOS. With the number of complaints in the market rising, Griffiths said: “We are looking for an option that keeps broker firm’s costs to a minimum but also provides a level of ‘business insurance’ if, as expected, the level of complaints continues to increase. We would welcome any feedback from members before we submit our response on this important issue.”
