Welcome to the inaugural Mortgage Finance Gazette Rated for Service Awards, in association with The Openwork Partnership.
Click here for full results and analysis
The Rated for Service Awards are based on a comprehensive annual survey that shines light on brokers’ assessments of lenders’ levels of service. Rated for Service recognises and commends lenders that have performed exceptionally well for brokers, providing lenders with an annual benchmark for service.
Taking an extensive list of UK lenders, more than 800 brokers have scored them on their service for the period between June 2022 and November 2022.
Lenders have been scored across five key service areas: strategic focus, product offering, sales support and communication, underwriting and case processing, and the use of technology. These scores have been used to determine which lenders have been Rated, and which have been Top Rated for service within one of three lender categories: mainstream, specialist and buy-to-let.
Each lender recognised here has demonstrated a strong commitment to the intermediary mortgage market amid some very testing times
Demonstrating outstanding service, eight mainstream lenders have achieved the Top Rated for Service honour, with a further eight commended as Rated for Service.
Meanwhile, eight stand-out buy-to-let lenders are recognised as Top Rated for Service, with eight more Rated for Service.
Last, but by no means least, three specialist lenders have excelled and achieved the Top Rated for Service award, with a further two recognised as Rated for Service.
The comprehensive analysis that accompanies the awards offers lenders a rare insight into brokers’ perceptions of their service. It is designed to assist lenders in shaping and forming their service strategies, enabling them to pinpoint any weaker areas.
To add further insight, scores have been assessed also in relation to whether a broker is directly authorised or an appointed representative, giving lenders an understanding of how their service may be viewed differently by the two demographics.
The results are also collated and analysed in respect of the number of mortgage cases a broker submits on a monthly basis.
The assessment period for this survey coincided with a particularly challenging time for lenders and brokers. The mortgage market was caught up in the economic storm that had resulted from former prime minister Liz Truss’s mini-Budget in September 2022.
While still recovering from the pandemic, the market encountered yet more unprecedented times with over 40% of mortgage products pulled almost overnight at the peak of the disruption. Mortgage lenders’ service was tested as never before, which makes the achievements of those Top Rated for Service and Rated for Service all the more commendable.
I would like to say a huge thank you to the hundreds of brokers who took the time to complete the survey. Your views have been invaluable.
Each lender recognised here has demonstrated a strong commitment to the intermediary mortgage market amid some very testing times. These accolades are both a recognition of this commitment and a cause for celebration.
