The worry follows the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries’ (AMI) recent decision to publish specific wording signed by the client in order to allow its members to ask for information on their client’s mortgage post-completion.
Peter Wright, financial adviser at CBK, said: “What AMI is doing is spot on, but the problem of accessing client details will continue if lenders do not register the authorisation. Intermediaries need to know that lenders are on-side too and that there is a regime in place to ensure what AMI and brokers are requesting is actually carried out.”
Despite getting legal advice on the wording of the statement, AMI has not received full backing from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) or the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA).
Rob Griffiths, associate director at AMI, said AMI was disappointed with how the statement was receieved. “We were hoping to get full backing from across the industry, but both IMLA and the CML believe it is up to each lender to decide their position on the subject.”
However, IMLA has defended its stance to allow each lender to decide which route it is to follow.
Commenting on the issue, John Heron, deputy chairman of IMLA, said: “As with all communication and legal issues, mortgage lenders have to make their own decisions. As a trade association, it is not possible to compel lenders to go down a certain route. Intermediaries that work well maintain a close contact with their clients anyway. For those who have lost touch with a client because they have moved away, for example, the issue of client confidentiality remains.”
