Leadbay revamps invalid lead policy

It is taking measures to improve both quality and value of leads, and to charge the small number of advisers who return an extraordinarily high number of genuine leads as invalid.

The majority of leads generated on the internet are genuine borrowers looking for advice, however there is always a small proportion that are hoax, or consumers who put the wrong details down and are therefore uncontactable; these are known as invalid leads. The price of each of these genuinely invalid leads is refunded in full by Leadbay.

Typically no more than 10% of leads will be invalid; however there are a small number of advisers who return a much larger proportion of leads in an attempt to recoup money for unconverted leads. This puts advisers who are submitting genuinely invalid leads at a disadvantage as it results in higher turnaround times on invalid leads and higher lead prices.

In order to maintain a fair and level playing field for all advisers using its system, Leadbay has undergone a full scale review of its invalid lead policy. The policy will now include a charge for people who have submitted, incorrectly as invalid, a number of leads significantly in excess of the average. This will affect the majority of Leadbay users in a positive way as advisers will more quickly be refunded the price of their genuinely invalid leads, it will also help to reduce the price of leads still further and encourage better quality leads.

Simon Baker, Leadbay’s operations manager, said: “Leadbay has experienced rapid growth during the past two years and is now providing tens of thousands of leads to advisers each month and with this number of leads there will inevitably be a number of enquiries that are not genuine or contactable. We are determined to ensure this does not disadvantage any adviser buying our leads. The change to our policy ensures that advisers using Leadbay can continue to benefit from the most generous invalid lead policy in the UK and that Leadbay’s excellent standards of service and lead quality are maintained.”