Obviously I can’t speak for other companies, but I’d like to reassure him that some of the largest and most reputable brokers in the country, who don’t charge fees, regularly buy their leads from Leadbay. Similarly, the brokers who do charge fees are not necessarily disadvantaging their clients as in many cases they will return their proc fee to the borrower.
A reputable mortgage broker like London & Country is to be admired for its high quality of advice, however, there is room in the market for brokers who wish to charge a fee and still provide a high level of service.
Cotton says brokers who charge a fee can pay more for leads, but in our experience, brokers who don’t charge a fee often convert more leads than brokers who do. This means non-fee-charging brokers make more profit per lead, which allows them to pay as much as a fee-charging broker for new leads.
Cotton expresses another concern that customers could end up paying a higher broker fee than if they had sought advice via an alternative route to an internet application. Some customers will seek advice using different methods as Cotton suggests, but this could be much less convenient for them and still not guarantee that they will find the cheapest broker, or that if they did, they would receive the best advice.
The process of being able to apply to speak to a mortgage broker over the internet has actually benefited borrowers in many ways and provides a new level of service not previously available as they can:
- request information in their own time – not necessarily within working hours
- request information from their desk
- receive a response from a broker often within minutes of requesting the information
- gain access to a broker they may otherwise not have heard about.
I’m sure Cotton can appreciate that borrowers who choose to take advantage of being able to request advice over the internet, are exercising a choice. If they speak to a broker who charges an unreasonable fee, they can exercise their choice again and choose not to deal with them, and instead to look for a broker who charges no fee.
Simon Baker
Operations manager, Leadbay.co.uk
