Rachel McKay, mortgage analyst from Moneyfacts.co.uk commented: “Whilst consumers may assume that the larger and well known lenders will offer the best deals, be more cost effective and generally pass on the benefits of their corporate wealth to their customers, this is certainly not always the case, as illustrated by the tables below.
5 Year Fixed Rate Fee Ranked Assets
Chorley & District BS 4.30% £595 50 * £136m
Bank of Scotland 4.74% £599 1 ** £68.1bn
5 Year Variable Rate Fee Ranked Assets
National Counties BS 4.40% £395 23 * £843m
Abbey 4.79% £499 3 ** £25bn
Source www.moneyfacts.co.uk 10/11/2005
McKay added: “Also when you compare arrangement fees, this is an area where large companies could reflect their standing by passing on cost savings to their clients. However in the above example, Bank of Scotland were also charging the highest arrangement fee with some 18 smaller lenders offering both lower interest rates and fees as shown in a Moneyfacts residential mortgage search carried out on 10.11.2005.
“It is important that the customer realises that there is a huge choice when it comes to mortgage providers, and as the information above shows, biggest doesn’t always mean the best deal.”
