In theory, there should be no difference in the service received by appointed representatives (ARs) and directly authorised (DAs) brokers, but our data tells a different story.
Once again, Rated for Service reveals some subtle yet intriguing variations in how the two groups perceive their service from lenders.
In the previous Rated for Service survey, ARs scored lenders more highly across all three markets – mainstream, specialist and BTL. This year, however, the trend was reversed, with DAs giving higher scores.
In the mainstream market, out of the 39 lenders scored, 22 received higher ratings from DAs than from ARs. This marks a significant shift from last year, when just six lenders received higher overall service scores from DAs compared to ARs.
Although there were some noticeable variations in individual lender scores, the gap between AR and DA ratings remained relatively small overall in the mainstream market.
When the specialist lender scores were examined, a bigger difference emerged, with DAs consistently giving higher scores. Of the 17 lenders rated, only one was scored more highly by ARs than by DAs.
There’s no obvious reason why such a significant difference should exist in the specialist space. One possible explanation could be brokers feeling that their network’s processes for connecting with specialist lenders could be improved, or vice versa.
In the BTL market, DAs again gave higher scores – not by as much as in the specialist market, but more than in the mainstream market. Only eight of the 36 BTL lenders received higher scores from ARs, with noticeable variations among individual lenders.
Across all sectors, the difference was more pronounced when ARs, rather than DAs, gave lower scores, further suggesting a pattern.
Looking at the scores overall, the largest disparities appear to occur with smaller or more specialist lenders, possibly indicating that individual networks’ or clubs’ relationships with these lenders also play a role.
All the data for the Mortgage Finance Gazette Rated for Service 2025 is now accessed via a dashboard. All the ratings data for each lender category, and all the rankings data for each assessment area, is available from the past three years. Lenders’ performance in any of the five assessment areas can now be ranked from highest to lowest across the entire lender panel for each year, and filtered based on broker type and case load.
This year we have also added factor analysis for each lender category, so brokers will be able to benchmark their chosen panel of lenders against the average score for each assessment area (max. of five lenders).
The dashboard brings an unprecedented level of clarity to lender service levels for the broker community. We’d like to hear your feedback in the comments section below, or email piers.johnson@emap.com.
Please see the full dashboard below:
Please click on the cover below to see the print supplement of Mortage Finance Gazette Rated For Service 2025.
