Consumers' Association: 'mortgage advisor service subscription a useless service'

The Consumers' Association warns against service subscriptions often recommended by mortgage advisors when taking out a mortgage. According to the association, many consumers pay for years for a useless service. They sometimes cancel them anyway because they feel pressured into signing up.

The Consumers' Association and independent mortgage advisor Ikbenfrits (IBF) compared 18 subscriptions. Almost all of them included services such as mortgage management, answering mortgage questions, or providing a new interest rate proposal after the fixed-rate period expires. These services fall under the intermediary's statutory duty of care when concluding a financial product and to which consumers are entitled even without a subscription.

Under pressure
The Consumers' Association is also receiving reports that consumers feel pressured into signing a service subscription. For example, advisors might inform their clients about the subscription just before the final mortgage signing. Or they might claim that clients without a subscription would have to pay high hourly rates. The Consumers' Association wants advisors to post information on their websites about the costs and content of the service subscriptions, including the services consumers are entitled to without a subscription.