The lender found that while brokers were using the principles, they were not implementing them according to Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules.
Linda Will, managing director of Accord Mortgages, said: “We asked brokers what they were doing about TCF and it seemed that they thought if they are getting leads from clients then they were treating customers fairly. The FSA thinks differently though and intermediaries don’t seem to know they need to prove that their client is getting the right information, rather than just relying on the fact they didn’t complain about the financial advice they received.”
The focus groups also revealed many brokers wanted clear examples so they had a basis for whether they were following TCF compliantly.
However, they were unaware the FSA had published examples of good and bad behaviour on their website.
Rob Griffiths, associate director of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI), said: “AMI is involved in a TCF consultation group with the FSA and we are expecting it to publish more information next month. At the moment, we are advising members to use the factsheets we offer to help them embed TCF in their businesses and make them aware of what they need to do.
“The FSA is aware of this thinking and it will be bringing out more information.”
Clive Briault, managing director of retail markets at the FSA, said: “There are many examples of good practice, but there is still a long way to go. We recognise the scale of the challenge firms face in trying to embed the principles of TCF within all that they do. Ultimately, we want to measure the success of our TCF initiative by looking at the difference it makes to customers.”
