Lawyers turn screws on mis-selling of mortgages

A  law firm has started taking on mortgage mis-selling cases, saying that there are 'millions' of people who have been mis-sold mortgages by brokers.
 
To date, Ashworth Law  says it has recovered in excess of £15m on behalf of its clients who were mis-sold other financial products, and it believes it can have similar success representing home owners with mortgage grievances.
 
Already the firm, which has just opened an office in Manchester, has recovered £120,000 on behalf of one client and £38,000 for another, after proving that advice given by the respective independent financial advisers was not in their client’s best interests.
 
Ashworth Law LDP co-founder Mathew Cobley said: “We believe there are millions of home owners who fall under the mis-sold mortgage bracket.
 
“In the days when you could easily get a mortgage, some independent financial advisers sold inappropriate loans to clients in order to gain larger, personal commission.”
 
He added: “With the technology and information we have, we are able to locate what other mortgage deals were available at the specific time the mortgage was taken out, what benefits they offered the client – and also what benefits the IFA received in terms of commission.
 
“Ultimately, we will know whether the IFA has acted in the best interests of the client or themselves. If a policy has been mis-sold, we calculate the level of compensation our client is owed. This is then recovered from the IFA’s insurance company.
 
“It doesn’t matter how long ago the mortgage was taken out, we will still be able find the information we are looking for.”
 
Cobley said the investigation process takes about six weeks. Should an IFA have been found not to have acted in the best interest of their client, they are then reported to the Financial Services Authority.