Broker information forum poised for launch

1BigTable, which has been in development for over a year, allows intermediaries to sign up and flag up any service issues or comments they have about the mortgage industry.

Central to the design of the website is the live chat facility, where intermediaries can converse, in real-time with other members, about industry issues. A lender league table will also run on the site, giving brokers the opportunity to rate lender’s service standards. Links to other websites will also be available, with a table showing if lender sites include applications and Key Facts Illustrations (KFIs).

Founder Jason Hegarty, a mortgage adviser at Leiston Mortgage Centre, said: “During the past few years the reigns on advisers have been getting tighter and tighter with the introduction of regulation, and though all of the changes have been for the good I felt that brokers have kind of been dictated to without being able to easily share their own views. 1BigTable will enable brokers to start to chat to one another in real-time and share views and concerns and this in turn will mean that the advice that clients receive can be improved. Via the lender ranking table, lenders will be able to see where they are doing things right and wrong and enable them to improve their services to brokers.”

Peter O’Donovan, mortgage manager at Bestinvest, said the forum could prove helpful to brokers. “The site would cut out a lot of time in dealing with lenders, and would definitely help the one and two-man brokers in finding out what other brokers think. However it would be time-consuming to sit in front of the computer screen waiting for replys.”

He added: “I’d be interested in the lender ratings table. At the moment you only know of a problem when you have trouble putting a case through them.

1BigTable can be found at www.1bigtable.co.uk.