Martyn Moseley, mortgage and protection consultant for Flexible-Mortgage.net, said he had lost his client after First Active approached the client directly three weeks before the deal was due to end with a deal that was better than the retention products he could offer.
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This followed Moseley contacting his client at the beginning of March to remortgage and initially looking at First Active to cut down on fees. However, a better deal was found with another lender and an application had been started.
Moseley said: “I’m not complaining about the timescale, as three weeks before the deal ends is not sharp practice. But to call up with a better deal is an entirely different matter. By deliberately undercutting brokers, it would be better off saying it doesn’t do retention. It’s underhand, and to lose the deal at the last minute because the lender goes to the client with a better deal is absolutely disgusting behaviour.”
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A spokesman for RBS Intermediary Partners, said: “On the whole, the intermediary channel tends to have the more keenly priced products in comparison to those available through other channels. A core part of First Active’s proposition has been to offer repeat proc fees to those intermediaries who advise their clients to remortgage with First Active in recognition of the work that they need to undertake.
“As part of our duty of care, we are writing to customers four to six weeks before their initial deal period finishes to let them know it is coming to an end and to tell them what their options are.”
