Swindon broker Select Mortgage Services has been fined £10,500 by the FSA for false claims about the products it could access and its sales and management processes.

The fine was reduced from £15,000 after Select agreed to settle the complaint at an early stage of the investigation into its special offers and internal controls on sales.

Select had falsely claimed to be an independent broker with access to products from more than 150 lenders, despite only being able to document sales involving 27 providers.

The FSA’s investigation was launched over its concern about the marketing of Select’s Capital Repayment Plan, which claimed to cut a third from the length of a 25-year loan.

The promotional material did not provide details of the interest-only mortgage used in the offer or the risks that it might involve, and failed to correctly display the APR.

Further management and sales procedure failings found by the FSA also stemmed from the promotion, said owner and director of Select Joe Masi.

‘Select accepts the findings of the FSA investigations and the terms of its final notice, which accepts that the breaches were not deliberate and the investigation did not find evidence that the failings identified resulted in any actual unsuitable mortgages for customers,’ said Masi.

‘We believe Select’s Capital Repayment Plan offers clients a modern and flexible way to repay their mortgage.’

Select was criticised for record keeping failures and failing to ensure that products were appropriate for clients, many of whom were financially vulnerable.

Story source: www.citywire.co.uk