Beware...Banks...bad mortgage advice offered?

Banks, are they acting in mortgage customers' best interests?

When you come a off fixed rate mortgage you go onto a lenders' Standard variable Rate (SVR). This should be substantially lower than what you are paying now.
However some banks are trying to get clients to take out a new deal which is much higher than the SVR.

Depending on when your mortgage lapsed, the rate could be as low as 2% with Nationwide

Many banks have the SVR very well hidden on their websites. I had to call Nationwide to get details.

If you are not sure what to do call an Independent Financial or Mortgage Adviser and they can investigate.

Banking chiefs should be sacked says fund manager

Fund manager James Foster of Artemis says heads of failing banks such as Fred Godwin of Royal Bank of Scotland & Andy Hornby of Halifax Bank of Scotland, "should be shown the door".

He continues, "they had forgotten the basic tenets of banking".

He was referring to their current problems, the way in which these had arisen & how the management of the banks are tackling them.

From Professional Adviser p5 24 July 2008

Which? slams Bank Financial Advisers, IFAs better

A report by Consumer group Which? has slammed financial advisers tied to banks & building societies. 2/3rd of advisers failed to pass its benchmarks for giving good advice

Neil Fowler, editor of Which? concluded "For more complex financial products such as investments, mortgages and pensions, you should really see an adviser. On the whole, you'll get better advice from an Independent Financial Adviser"

I will be telling everybody I meet in Swindon. :)

Consumers don't trust Big Banks..especially Barclays.

Interesting article in Money Marketing. A survey of nearly 4000 consumers revealed 2/3rds of Barclays, HSBC, Halifax/Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest customers do not trust them to sell the right products.

1 in 8 Customers claimed to have been missold a financial product.
1 in 5 Barclays customers said that money had gone astray from their accounts.

The survey was conducted by Motley Fool.

Banks are Coy About: Part 1

When you see a mortgage or financial adviser at a bank they usually only have their own products or sometimes from a limited (tied) range.

Under legislation, if they don’t have a suitable product for you, they are supposed to tell you & recommend you see an Independent Financial Adviser.

Has this ever happened to anyone?


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