Not upheld: mortgage advice quality and service delays complaint against Countrywide Principal Services

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs B complained to the FOS about Countrywide Principal Services' mortgage advice and service quality during their 2025 house purchase. They claimed that the mortgage adviser failed to consistently provide information about 5% deposit options, which they believed caused them to lose their preferred property and purchase a less suitable one requiring £40,000 in renovations. The ombudsman found that Mr and Mrs B had in fact received 5% deposit figures in February and May 2025, and that even with this information, they would not have made a higher offer on the lost property given their stated views on valuation. The ombudsman also found that the March 2025 error in borrowing figures was quickly corrected and had minimal impact. The complaint was not upheld, and no refund of fees was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Mr and Mrs B initially requested 5% and 10% deposit figures, they were in fact provided with 5% figures in February and May 2025. The role of a mortgage adviser is to recommend the most suitable option, not to provide all options repeatedly. Regarding the lost property, the ombudsman was not persuaded that Mr and Mrs B would have made a higher offer even with 5% deposit information, given their stated view that the winning offer was 'stupidly high' and their consistent preference not to offer more than they believed a property was worth. Additionally, even if they had offered more, there was no guarantee their offer would have been accepted, as vendors consider multiple factors beyond price. The March 2025 error was corrected quickly and had minimal impact.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website