Just like any industry, unfortunately there are still a small minority of brokers who are unscrupulous and immoral and as highlighted with Home and County will do anything to secure a sale.
I do feel sorry for the people involved and anyone else for that matter who has a property repossessed, as it must be distressing. I feel that there is only a small minority of brokers who act in this way but was absolutely gob smacked that the FSA declined to comment and at least try and put some credibility back into the sub prime market. What the hell do we pay them for exactly?
If they had any backbone they would have faced the BBC and reassured the public that it is only a VERY small minority of brokers that act irresponsibly and that they have found most to be morally and ethically responsible. This would at least have gone some way to reassure the public that we are not just out to get their money as it came across but are there to provide an invaluable service to the housing market. It seems when something goes wrong we are an easy target to blame time and time again. (Endowments, self-cert. misselling PPI etc).
What the BBC didn’t get across was how many people who wouldn’t normally have been able to get a mortgage via the high street have become homeowners over the past 10 years and this is the major plus side of the sub prime market.
I feel the FSA could have tried to get these two messages across, but as usual I feel they have let us down again As for home and county who were highlighted in the programme, again the FSA fined them £50,000. The firm should be banned from trading in my mind.
I would have thought the mere fact that documentation wasn’t available (the BBC claimed it had gained inside information that some of it had been shredded) was enough to show that some wrong doings were afoot. Is it not common practice now for us all to show that TCF and an audit trail is paramount or should be according to how much the FSA has gone on about it in recent times.
I am sure that most will agree this company didn’t TREAT CUSTOMERS FAIRLY!
Nigel Pamment
Inspirational Financial Management Ltd
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