Although Stroud & Swindon denied the accusations, it admitted that it is experiencing a delay in looking at mortgage cases.
One broker, who wishes to remain unnamed, told MI – News: “I know of at least four different brokers who have said that Stroud & Swindon’s processing centres are in meltdown. They have informed me it is taking weeks and weeks for a case to even be looked at.”
Amy Pegler, spokesperson at Stroud & Swindon, said: “We had a lot of cases coming in during April so this has caused a slight delay at the moment.
“On average it is taking about three weeks to issue offers and we are currently looking at applications that came in on 9 May. But there is no meltdown.”
Stroud & Swindon is the latest lender to be heavily criticised for its service and efficiency. Last month MI revealed how brokers had accused Bristol &West (B&W) of severe service delays when sending through non-conforming cases – stating some cases were taking up to a month to be seen.
B&W admitted it was experiencing minor delays with some of its adverse cases but that it was only marginally outside its service standard.
London-based sole broker Roy New said lenders’ level of service had suffered since ‘Mortgage Day’. He commented: “Regulation has impacted on the service provided by lenders. But it is also a case of lender ignorance and greed.”
“When they launch competitive deals with limited tranches they don’t seem to employ an extra department to deal with the inevitable influx of demand for these products. They should be putting some of the profit they make into providing a better service,” New added.
