Latest research suggests that mortgages are now the hardest financial product to switch.
According to a new Gocompare.com survey of customers who have shopped around for financial services in the last 12 months, just 59% of people who recently switched their mortgage provider described the process as ‘easy’. Back in July 2014 when the same survey was carried out, that figure was 70%.
The comparison site says the reduction suggests the Mortgage Market Review, which was introduced at the end of April 2014, is continuing to frustrate consumers. The new system means that anyone needing a mortgage to buy a home, increase a current mortgage or re-mortgage needs to pass a more stringent affordability test, while interest-only applicants need to be able to demonstrate a credible repayment plan.
| Rank | Financial product switched | “Was it easy to switch?” | |
| March 2015 | July 2014* | ||
| 1 | Home insurance | 90% | 90% |
| 2 | Car insurance | 88% | 84% |
| 3 | Credit card | 82% | 83% |
| 4 | Landline phone | 78% | 80% |
| 5 | ISA or savings account | 78% | 79% |
| 6 | Bank account (current account) | 75% | 77% |
| 7 | Energy provider | 75% | 75% |
| 8 | Broadband provider | 72% | 68% |
| 9 | Mobile phone | 70% | 72% |
| 10 | Mortgage | 59% | 70% |
MMR changes have subsequently been blamed for a fall in mortgage applications and delays in processing approvals.
90% of customers who switched home insurance providers in the last 12 months found the process easy, followed by 88% for car insurance switches (up from 84%) and 82% for credit cards. Changing broadband provider (72%) and mobile phone (70%) completed the bottom three alongside mortgages.
Energy and bank current accounts – two product areas that have benefited from improvements in the switching process recently faired only slightly better. Only 75% said they found switching their energy and bank account easy.
Matt Sanders from Gocompare.com said: “It is clear from our research that consumers have taken issue with the changes to the mortgage application process introduced 12 months ago. To put it into context, the recent improvements in bank account and energy switching have failed to register at all on this survey, yet mortgages have slipped 11 percentage points. It would be fair to say that mortgages were never the most straightforward product to switch, but MMR has added an extra layer of complexity and in many cases led to delays in the process which just frustrates people further.
“Familiarity clearly plays a part in consumers’ perceptions around ease of switching, with home and car insurance seen as the easiest products to switch. These are annual products so consumers are often more aware of the switching process and providers have to maintain slick procedures to manage the volumes effectively. However, for most of the other products in our list – including mortgages – providers need to up their game as the switching genie is well and truly out of the bottle, and consumers expect a good service when they have spent time shopping around to find a better deal.
“MMR has undoubtedly prolonged the process of applying for a mortgage, but a mortgage is still one of your biggest financial outgoings therefore it’s good to know that the importance of affordability is now at the heart of what they offer, which at the end of the day benefits the customer as well as providers.
“Even though applying for a mortgage is more complicated, there has never been a better time to shop around and with record low interest rates, the hassle of going through the checks and balances might be worth it to save yourself some cash every month.”
