Fluent Mortgages has sounded a warning to the intermediary sector that the days when lenders, keen to increase distribution, would continue to overlook poorly prepared, incomplete applications and waste time on applications where material facts are disguised or missed out, are coming to an end.

The specialist mortgage advisers argues that improvements in technology, allied to proposed relaxation of FCA rules surrounding execution only customer engagement, could persuade more lenders to pursue a greater online and direct to consumer strategy, rather than persist with the costs associated with poorly presented cases from the intermediary sector.

Dan Payne (pictured), managing director at Fluent Mortgages, said: “Lenders have complained in private for many years about the poor standard of DIPs and applications presented by adviser firms, but have written off the extra costs of dealing with such cases as part of the price of securing distribution.

“Many choose not to make an issue because of increasing competition and the fear of losing cases to other lenders. Interestingly, some packagers, whose area of expertise is supposed to be case preparation, have been guilty of being just as poor.

“To be fair, online DIP and application portals have helped to cut down on omissions, but that same technology along with a regulator’s likely rolling back of its own rules on consumers seeking advice, will give lenders a stronger hand to reassess where they put their resources.

“The burden of business acquisition costs could begin to come down heavily against introducer sourced business, unless the standards of applications submitted improve from the broking community.

“Let’s not give lenders any more reasons to look elsewhere for distribution.”