Increasingly the rates and information held on sourcing systems are incorrect with some products having been withdrawn already, others having the wrong details or charges while other products, such as the new Halifax mortgage offering free Stamp Duty, is not represented on the sourcing systems at all.
It seems very wrong that commercial systems on which so many advisers and their clients rely, carry no responsibility at all for the information that they hold.
If an adviser provides the wrong information to a client they are held fully accountable and could lose their livelihoods as a result, so the systems on which they get this information should also be accountable.
Maybe we should go as far as saying it is time that sourcing systems and every type of price comparison site should be regulated?
Sourcing systems are still a valuable guide but it is essential that advisers verify the information that they have seen on a sourcing system with their network and with the lender itself before they tell the client about the rate or try to submit an application as it’s only by checking all the details yourself can you be sure that you are giving your client the right information.
Networks should be a more reliable source of information; because of their close working relationships with the lenders it is frequently the case that a network will have the information on new or withdrawn products before the sourcing systems will, so take a look at your network’s helpdesk or intranet.
We must surely be reaching a crux regarding the accuracy of sourcing systems and price comparison sites and it’s not easy to forget that it’s the adviser who carries the can if they pass on the wrong information.
Toni Smith is sales operations director at First Complete
