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 on the site, with a table showing if lender sites include full applications and online Key Facts Illustrations (KFIs).
Commenting on the launch, founder Jason Hegarty, a mortgage adviser at Leiston Mortgage Centre, said: “The reins on advisers have been getting tighter with regulatory changes, and though all of the changes have been for the good I felt that brokers have been dictated to without being able to easily share their own views. 1BigTable will enable brokers to chat to one another in real-time and share views, concerns, experiences and knowledge. 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.”
Peter O’Donovan, mortgage manager at Bestinvest, said the forum could prove helpful to brokers. “The thought behind the site is a good idea. It 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 intermediaries think.”
He added: “I would certainly be interested in the lender ratings table and the outcomes. At the moment you only know of a lenders problem when you have trouble putting a case through them, so to know beforehand of any service issues would help.
1BigTable can be found at www.1bigtable.co.uk.
