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Star Letter Extra 12/07/13

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  • 12/07/2013
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Star Letter Extra 12/07/13
Each Friday, Mortgage Solutions takes a look back at the best reader comments on the website.

BoI rise prompts FCA to probe mortgage contract fairness

All in favour of fairness – what seems unfair is if brokers get sued for the actions of lenders over which they have no control. Whilst the brokers will have made recommendations in good faith for which they have to take responsibility it is really becoming so unfair when the ‘customer’ takes no responsibility for their decisions.

This could spell the end of advice as firms find it increasingly difficult to obtain PII cover. Where has commonsense gone, gone with the FSA?

Bill Warren

Is the FCA levy fair on brokers? – Marketwatch

Having entered the financial services industry during the era of self-regulation, I wonder to what degree formalising its regulation at fantastic cost (£430million this year alone) has actually reduced the number of ‘financial scandals’?

John G.

BoI borrowers could slam advisers with mis-selling cases – Wheatley

So let me get this straight: advisers could be held as being negligent because a borrower’s variable rate mortgage has had the rate varied? No adviser on earth could have predicted the actions of the lender nine years in advance.

The only negligent action could have been that the adviser did not tell the borrower that their interest rate would switch to a variable standard rate when a product came to an end – although the pre-mortgage code equivalent of the Key Facts Illustrations would have done so. This sounds like a very weak argument to me.

I do sympathise with anyone who has had their rate hiked – and if it were me I would perhaps be up in arms – but to try and blame an adviser for a completely unforeseen event nine years after the mortgage is arranged is bordering on the ridiculous, and given the cost of defending such a complaint, unfair.

As mentioned in the article, in his letter Wheatley argued the bank had acted fairly and in line with terms and conditions in its mortgages, which were sold before statutory mortgage regulation was introduced in 2004.

It strikes me that his later comments to the Treasury Select Committee were to suggest the borrowers had the right to complain – but not that they could expect to be successful.

Andy Wilson

Advisers pushed out by RDR returning

You have known about this for years so why do you not start doing something about it instead of rolling over every time the regulator tells you to? We were told that you are a body trying to promote higher standards but what is the point if there is no one left to use higher standards.

We are already at a point where a huge portion of the population does not receive advice and frankly it is only going to get worse unless somebody stands up and says this needs to be reviewed.

Richard Green

Help to Buy detail out in two weeks; Osborne dismisses house price fears

Government intervention should always be considered cautiously of course. However five years have passed since the credit meltdown with very little prospect of young people being able to access the property ladder.

Let’s hope this is the panacea for the property market.

Gary Buckley

Thank you for your comments this week

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