The firms claim it is grossly unfair that while they abide by the letter of the law there are still widespread abuses which appear to be going unpunished.
Thomas Reeh, chief executive officer of the Black & White Group, said that since the introduction of mortgage regulation responses to the company’s advertisements in the national press had dropped by up to 30 per cent. He blamed the significant increase in small print that had to be added to ensure compliance for putting potential clients off.
“We have highlighted un-compliant adverts to the FSA in the hope that they will do something about them but so far have had no response.
“All we are asking for is a level-playing field so that the firms who have embraced the spirit and the letter of mortgage regulation are not disadvantaged,” he said.
Steve Royal, director of Ethical Mortgage Solutions, agreed with Reeh that there were still un-compliant advertisements appearing in the national press despite regulation.
“There are still loads of them out there and the FSA really should do something about it. It is not fair that some firms are blatantly flouting the rules and getting away with it.
“I deal with the marketing at Ethical and am constantly battling with the compliance people over the design of adverts. Compliance always win the argument but it seems to be the other way round at some other firms, particularly in the non-conforming sector.”
Royal said Ethical too had seen a 30 per cent drop in responses but blamed it on the state of the market in general rather than the extra information displayed on adverts.
The FSA was unable to comment.
