In a letter to Mortgage Introducer Mathew Bright, managing director of Optoma, said: “In a recent article a FSA spokesman clearly states that MTA letters were sent out in line with how early and promptly brokers got their FSA applications in.”
Bright said that Optoma had presented its application on the 6 February. He said that when enquiries were made regarding the progress of the application Optoma were told that the person dealing with it was on maternity leave.
“We were among the first to submit our application,” he added. “This is not sour grapes just a request for an level playing field in respect of those companies who commenced preparations for regulation well over twelve months ago.”
FSA spokesman Robin Gordon-Walker said he could not comment on individual cases. He said: “It is understandable that those who have not received their MTAs are getting anxious, however we adopted a rolling process of releasing MTAs to ensure that everyone was not left in limbo.”
Philip Ryley, a compliance expert from Bristol-based solicitors TLT and AMI board member, commented: “Some applications will clearly take longer then others because no single network application is the same. However it does seem unfair that some firms could gain a commercial advantage if they receive their MTA earlier.”
