Frequently asked questions

A. All lenders require a credit search to be carried out to support the loan application and invariably the information provided by the borrower is incorrect to a greater or lesser degree. This can have the effect of not only altering the offer available, but making a difference between being able to offer a loan or there being no product available at all. Where lender technology permits, Promise Quote integrates with the lender’s credit search and decisioning engine, enabling Promise brokers to get an instant, accurate result from the lender, immediately at the point of sale.

A. Promise Quote enables Promise brokers to source loans from a whole of market panel, based entirely on the information provided by the borrowers. Once potential qualifying lenders have been identified, Promise Quote allows brokers to obtain a firmer decision by instantly accessing the lender’s credit search and credit score. This is done by clicking one button and no re-keying is required. Following the lender’s credit search, product results are adjusted dependent upon the search result, providing brokers with the fastest and most accurate loan decisions available.

A. Under the requirements of the Consumer Credit Act, no up front charges can be made with regard to arranging a secured loan. This means that the loan broker incurs all costs on a speculative basis. These often include a valuation, an account conduct questionnaire from the 1st mortgagee, consent to register a second charge, legal searches as well as numerous other costs, which vary from case to case. The good news is that you, the introducer don’t need to worry too much about these costs and, if the loan doesn’t complete, the customer has nothing to pay. The bad news is that the master broker can incur huge, abortive and non-recoverable costs which have to be reflected in any introductory commissions paid out. It is therefore in everyone’s interest to keep costs to a minimum and conversion rates to a maximum.

A. Your client will not be charged any upfront fees by a master broker as all fees related to the loan are included within the APR calculation which will be shown on the credit agreement and also on the product page within the system.

A. In certain circumstances lenders may charge a legal & documentation fee in addition to any brokerage fee. This fee is only paid by the borrower upon completion of their loan and is shown on the product page within the system and on the credit agreement.

A. It may be that there are simply no products available to match your client’s circumstances. However, there may be a product available which is very close to that requested. For example a client may not qualify for a £20,000 loan but may qualify for a £19,000 loan. Similarly, due to their age, they may not qualify for a loan over 20 years but they may qualify for a loan over 15 years. For further help refer to the hints and tips in the underwriting guide.

A. The rules for early redemption are very clear and apply to all lenders. Dependent upon the date of the redemption request, this normally varies between 1 and 2 months interest on the balance outstanding. Early settlement examples are provided for the specific quotation you have sourced on the products page.

A. No.

A. It is helpful if the introducing broker can gather as much information as possible and forward it to Promise. Promise provides you with the option to sign up your client’s applications yourself, at which point as much information as possible should be obtained to support the application. Once the consideration copies of the agreement have been issued to the borrowers, Promise will generally look after the entire process through to completion, although the introducing broker’s assistance is often helpful, providing consideration periods are not breached.

A. Secured loan lenders pay generous commissions on introduced loans on the basis the loan remains on their books for a number of years. In the event that a customer cancels their loan facility, normally within the first six months, the lender may claw back up to 100% of the commission they have paid. We will then normally, in turn, claw this commission back from our introducer as detailed in our Terms & Conditions.

A. Brokers submitting a good volume and quality of secured loan enquiries can earn up to 70% of the commission and fees generated after deduction of processing costs. As we will be handling your client’s journey throughout the process, we will bear the cost of all valuations, building society references, legal searches, mining reports etc, irrespective of whether the customer completes on the loan. Therefore there is no risk of abortive costs to you as we incur all the costs on a speculative basis. We aim to pay amongst the highest commissions in the market. Where the broker has fully sold the loan using Promise Quote, on completion, will pay 60% of the residual commission and fees we earn, after deducting our processing costs (average under £500). As you source the loan, you can see how much you will earn before submitting an application. Where the broker chooses to submit a basic enquiry to us, we will fully sell and liaise with the borrower and pay 50% of the income as above.

A. It couldn’t be simpler – you have access to live online case tracking 24 hours per day-meaning you are in control & can see the progress on your individual cases.

A. Once we have issued credit agreements to your client, Promise will look after all compliance matters with regards to the application through to completion. It is important that, during the consideration periods, you do not contact your customer unless they specifically request you to do so. Should you have any specific compliance request, we have a very experienced compliance department who can help you with your queries. With regards to compliance issues relating to financial promotions, you will find help within our marketing toolbox. Should you wish to speak to somebody on a compliance matter, please contact our Affinity & Relationship Department.

A. Our success is measured by the success we create for you. The more income we generate the more commission you (and we) receive. It’s a win-win situation. Therefore we will help you in whatever way we can. Whether you want help with Compliance, Marketing, Strategy, Process or some other aspect of your business - Talk to us about your needs and ideas.

A. As soon as the consideration copies of the regulated credit agreement are issued to your customer, the consideration period starts and we are not able to contact your customer unless they specifically request us to do so. Therefore, prior to issuing of documents we will attempt to speak to your customer to introduce ourselves and explain the process. If we are unable to make contact within 24 hours, documents will be issued automatically. 8 days later the signable documents will be sent to your customer and, after a further 8 days, we will attempt to contact the customer if the final documents have not been received back. During the interim period we will normally be seeking third party references such as legal searches, building society references, consent to second charges and instructing a valuation on the property. Please encourage your clients to call us within 24hours of you submitting your application and to return the application form immediately as we may need their written authority to obtain mortgage references. Ideally, by the time your customer returns the signed loan agreements to us, our enquiries will be complete, although this is often not the case due to the timescales imposed on us by third parties.

A. Whilst professional indemnity cover is not mandatory it is recommended, but each firm must make their own decision based on the perceived risks. As the sale of secured loans is currently not regulated, and as the number of secured loans written is likely to be small by comparison to an intermediary’s mortgage business, the increase in professional indemnity cover is likely to be small.

A. From receipt of a customer’s application, at which point we issue the credit agreement and supporting application details, the time to completion is dependant very much on the amount of information required from third parties. Typical times for a secured loan are 2 - 4 weeks.

A. Of course you can. We are proud of the passion our team work with & would love you to visit us. Call your account manager to arrange a site visit & click here for a map.

A. Click here for a list of our lenders.

A. In 2001 we set a charity to help terminally and seriously ill Children in the UK. We were keen for transparency and to ensure that 100% of donations received would benefit the child or family we were helping. The charity, called Promise Dreams, has helped hundreds of children and, with our help, raised over 1.8 million pounds. Click here for more details.

A. Our Links Page has a number of links regarding secured loans and credit reference agencies.

A. Secured loans are regulated under the Consumer Credit Act. Generally we will look after all compliance matters whilst processing the application. However, care should be taken not to breach consideration periods, or if thinking of advertising secured loans. Otherwise, if you follow the same practices you adopt within your mortgage business of treating the customer fairly, being transparent in your dealings with them and keep good records, you are unlikely to go far wrong.

A. Of course. We do not sell any insurance, pension or investment products, as intermediaries provide much of our business and they sell their own products.

A. If you wish, you can simply provide us with your client’s name and contact details, we’ll do everything else, and you can be assured that we will take care of the entire process. You can monitor everything using case tracking. Alternatively, using Promise Quote, you can choose to handle all aspects of the sale and, if you wish, visit your clients to obtain the application form and supporting information. If you wish to help us obtain further information, whilst processing the application, this is also possible provided that consideration periods are not breached.

A. The first place to look for updates on all of your cases is on our online case tracking which allows you to look at each category of enquiry separately, i.e. unsubmitted enquiries, submitted enquiries, cases, etc. You will also have access to our BDMs who can help you with new enquiries and the Processing Team who can discuss individual client applications which are being processed.

A. We can pay you by cheque or by BACS. For brokers dealing direct with Promise, commission payments are made immediately following receipt of commissions and fees from the relevant lender.

A. One of our key aims is to help find every customer a solution for their financial needs. This is always done with the customer’s best interest in mind and we believe strongly in “Treating the Customer Fairly”.