Dear Sir,
Recently several lead providers have announced they have significant lead volumes coming in, with some even announcing ‘surplus leads’ for sale at greatly discounted prices. Are they genuinely experiencing higher lead volumes or have brokers across the UK simply stopped buying as many leads as they used to, having got fed up of consistently poor lead quality?
I, perhaps allegedly – and any more legal disclaimers you can think of – have got fed up with the ‘alleged’ poor quality of the supposed ‘leads’.
It doesn’t make it any better when lead providers say: ‘Ah well, we did have a poor batch or provider at that time, but now we’re a lot better. ‘ And yes, they did say that to me. Okay. Then what about giving all my money back for that period then? Having suffered many ‘leads’ whereby ‘clients’ say: ‘No, I didn’t mean for anyone to contact me,’ or ‘I was just trying to get an online quote and didn’t know it was going to get someone to call me,’ – how well does its generation service sit within the Financial Services Authority’s rules? I think the lead providers might be starting to suffer their own fate – as the old adage goes, don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
They can, like King Canute try to stop the tide coming in and keep to their existing models of fleecing brokers with low conversion rates – typically of one-in-six – or they can take positive action and rigorously enforce the quality of their suppliers. Oh yes, and pay back the money to brokers – the guinea pigs – who used the duff suppliers leads before they axed them.
They have managed to get away with quite a lot for a long time, and perhaps the tide is starting to turn as brokers revert to other methods of generating business, such as introducers who get paid handsomely – but only when cases complete. Now that’s a business model that works. Lead providers take note.
A rebel with a cause ?
Best Regards
David Farrell
Affordablemortgages.co.uk
Halting the HIPs train
Dear Sir,
There have been so many twists and turns in the Home Information Pack (HIP) fiasco that many industry figures are now confused, so what chance does the poor unsuspecting public have?
As a trainee home inspector myself, I believe that the Labour Party has meddled with the HIP for so long and so many times that it now will not achieve what is was intended for. It was devised to speed up the whole house purchase transaction, however Labour now seems to be pinning all the emphasis on the green element of it; namely the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
Ironically, the EPC started its life as a mere component of the Home Condition Report (HCR), but we now have the ludicrous situation were the HCR is voluntary but the EPC is mandatory. Frankly, I think the EPC should be a standalone document, as it is in Ireland, and should be removed completely from the pack. Its sole purpose is to satisfy an EU Directive to reduce carbon emissions within the EU countries –the Kyoto treaty. Therefore would it not make much more sense if every household in the UK were to have an EPC carried out on them, not just the properties that are being sold? This would surely help the industry as a whole.
Jim Gillespie
Chairman
The Home Inspectors Organisation
Is the industry doing enough?
Dear Sir,
HIPs have been debated at every level in the industry and have taken up column upon column of the trade publications by both the anti and pro-HIP brigades, but at HIP HIP hooray.com, we don't believe that industry awareness is necessarily an issue.
In much the same way, in terms of education, the government has been running full page adverts in the trade media for almost a year, warning the industry that HIPs were on the way, providing marketing materials to help educate the consumer and running regional seminars throughout the country to help the industry prepare.
From a consumer stand-point, we believe it is now the responsibility of estate agents, solicitors, lenders and mortgage brokers to furnish their clients with information regarding HIPs, in much the same way they do about any other part of the law, for example, the Property Misdescription Act, Financial Service Authority, etc.
The government has hosted special training days in the trial areas to help agents promote HIPs and HCRs in a non-compulsory market. The industry must now recognise that the education needs to come from the front line; the agents that will be approached by sellers looking to bring their property to market.
So really the question should not be whether the government is doing enough to promote and educate consumers and the industry on HIPs, but should be ‘is the industry doing enough to promote and educate consumers about HIPs use and impact?’
Lesley Sorridimi
HIP HIP hooray.com
Running into trouble
Dear Sir,
With the implementation of HIPS in less than six months, I find it surprising that the government has announced more plans for dry-runs.
While this move is a good one, the decision to do it four months before the planned implementation of the packs suggests much is still to be decided by the packs, with many still in the dark over their function and use. It also suggests the initial dry-run has not gone completely to plan, with the government hoping that the new proposals will provide a better understanding.
While I agree with the need for more thorough testing of HIPs, surely this should have been done at an earlier juncture? Or, alternatively the deadline for HIPS moved back, while more adequate testing was conducted? Having already been watered down from its original aim, it seems that a massive cloud hangs over the future of HIPs and their successful implementation in the market.
Many consumers still have no idea about HIPs, and some in the industry remain the same. There seems to be a real worry that HIPs could be the new Self Invested Pension Plans, with the government announcing a u-turn prior to their planned launch. It seems much will depend on the timing of Blair’s departure, and how his successor views the state of the housing market. Until we know this, the industry can only sit and wait, which does no one any good. With only four months to go, we should be full steam ahead, but this indecision and constant change is damaging the industry.
Name and address supplied
