Advisers transacting more than half their mortgage business via the internet, phone or post may have to pay a higher registration fee to the Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB) as from May.
New rules published by the MCCB state that if 50% or more of business is received via remote systems, a registration fee of £1,175 will be charged, even if the normal scale fee based on the number of sales staff is significantly less. For firms with 500 staff or less, the rule means an increase of at least £400 a year.
Brad Baker, spokesperson for the MCCB, said: ‘Some large companies using remote systems did not declare the real number of staff working for them so they paid a smaller fee. This new fee has been set to cover the unfair advantage some businesses may have taken.’
But Rod Murdison, proprietor of Murdison & Browning, said: ‘I do not see the logic in this. It will increase costs and so there will be fewer brokers. This means reduced choice for consumers.’
