Moneypilot.co.uk, a subsidiary company of Principality, has evolved in response to some of the difficulties experienced by customers when searching for a mortgage.
Headquartered in Cardiff, the team currently consists of eight qualified mortgage and financial advisers with plans to expand in the near future.
An independent survey commissioned by Moneypilot.co.uk highlighted the need for the service by revealing that more than 70 per cent of UK mortgage borrowers could be paying thousands of pounds in excess interest payments each year by not shopping around for the best mortgage deal.
The survey indicated that reasons for not remortgaging varied with 12 per cent of UK borrowers citing that it was not worth the hassle of searching and nine per cent having never got round to it.
People in the North West seemed the most complacent when it came to remortgaging with 23 per cent admitting to having never got round to it compared to only three per cent in the South East.
Neal Pritchard, managing director at Moneypilot.co.uk, explained how the concept for Moneypilot came about: "Mortgage advice is readily available, but in today’s time-poor society, we all want to be able to access the best advice quickly and easily.
"Borrowers could be paying up to two per cent more in interest on an older mortgage than the best mortgages currently on the market.
"This would mean, for example, on a £100,000 mortgage they could be paying an extra £2,000 a year in interest – which is simply not cost effective.
"Mortgage borrowers should look at remortgaging every two to three years, but only 27 per cent of those surveyed actually knew how often to review their mortgage with a total of 26 per cent not knowing when they should start looking around for a better deal.
"Our web-based mortgage service makes it easier by providing a convenient way of getting good advice without the unnecessary burden of having to physically go and see an adviser or invite them into your home."
Moneypilot.co.uk is a way of accessing the whole of the mortgage market and a range of insurance providers. The web technology enables the adviser to feed relevant information through to the customer’s computer screen whilst discussing the options with them on the phone at the same time. Customers can also see application forms on their own screen as they are being completed by the adviser.
Pritchard added: "It’s great that we can exploit this technology for the consumer’s benefit. The mortgage interview is so much clearer when customers can both listen to and actually see all the information available to the adviser on their own web browser.
"We believe customers will value the transparency this free service offers and it has the added benefit of being delivered at a time and place to suit the customer – whether at home or during their lunch hour in the office."
Tracy Morshead, managing director of Principality Building Society, said: "This is a revolutionary service that is using technology in a completely innovative way. We expect there to be a UK-wide take up on this service and early signs are very encouraging.
"As a Welsh building society we are delighted to create new job opportunities in South Wales through this new company.
"As our customer base grows we aim to expand the company and offer first class financial services’ training opportunities in the region."
