Should I overpay on my mortgage or get a new reduced mortgage with my inheritance?

In message , Rob graham writes

Possibly they did. But they seem to have given you misinformation about the Banking Code and the FSA being the source of the rule (which it was clearly is not from either of those sources) .

Tell them about Consumer Credit Act 1974 Section 155 - Right to recover brokerage fees and send him to :

In message , john boyle writes

How is the fees only system under FSMA 200x meant to interact with this, I would expect the newer Act to supersede the older one.

In message , " snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net" writes

It complements it. If the client doesnt get the mortgage in 6 months then only a fiver is payable. There is no conflict. To the best of my knowledge the FSMA does not even refer to the CCA.

That only seems to apply to *brokerage* fees. What about fees for advice?

E.g. Punty Punter is thinking of buying a house but is totally clued-down about mortgages. He goes to see an "independent mortgage adviser" and pesters him on several occasions, for hours at a time. All told, the adviser lavished two whole days of his valuable time upon this prospective customer.

Eventually Punty thinks he understands it all, and then decides to go and borrow the money privately from his rich uncle Jim. Clearly the adviser is not entitled to brokerage fees, not only because no lender to whom he introduced Punty actually lent him anything, but because, well, no introduction even took place at all. That is to say there was no broking, nor was there ever an intention to broke, though there may have been some hope on the part of the adviser that his broking services would be requested.

Is not the adviser entitled to charge for merely dispensing advice? If not, any advice is bound to be biased, since the adviser will want to put pressure on the punter to make him source a loan through him as broker.

Thats true.

The test is whether the client asks the adviser to find or recommend a loan which is secured on domestic property. If he doesnt, then the adviser isnt broking.

AIUI he is so long as this was made clear in his initial disclosure document.

Quite.