Not upheld: Mortgage advice complaints complaint against Mortgage Advice Bureau Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs S complained about poor advice and service from Mortgage Advice Bureau Limited when seeking mortgage advice in mid-2025. MAB recommended remortgaging with a new lender (lender A) without considering the option of a further advance and product transfer with their existing lender (lender N), despite Mr S directly asking about this option. MAB acknowledged its errors and paid compensation of approximately £6,700 for additional interest costs and fees, plus refunded its £995 broker fee. Mr S sought further compensation for the loss of access to lender N's products and services, but the ombudsman found this was not justified as the complainants had not identified specific products or services they could no longer access, and the financial loss had already been compensated.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that MAB made clear errors in not considering lender N as an option despite Mr S's direct question, and that its service was poor. However, MAB had already compensated Mr and Mrs S for their financial loss (approximately £6,700) and refunded the £995 broker fee, which the ombudsman considered fair compensation for upset, worry and inconvenience. The ombudsman noted that Mr S had not specified what particular products, services, benefits or terms from lender N they wished to access that were unavailable through lender A, and that it was unclear whether remortgaging had actually excluded them from accessing lender N's products or services. Therefore, the ombudsman found no basis for requiring further compensation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website