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THE FINANCEBASE List yours

Guide

What to do if your mortgage adviser stops trading or transfers your case

By TheFinanceBase Team 9 min read

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If your UK mortgage adviser has stopped trading, moved firms or says your case has been transferred, do not assume the new adviser automatically has your file or responsibility for earlier advice. First identify the legal business handling the case, verify its FCA permissions and contact details independently, then ask your lender for the live application status. Keep continuity of the mortgage application separate from any complaint about unsuitable advice or loss.

The right route depends on the advice date, the legal entity involved, whether a new firm has formally accepted the case, your mortgage type and whether the original firm can still answer a complaint.

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1. Establish exactly what has happened

“Stopped trading” can describe several different events, and each has different consequences:

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  • Your individual adviser has moved: the adviser may now work for a different firm, but the original business may still be responsible for advice given while the adviser worked there.
  • The brokerage has closed: the firm may have ceased trading, entered administration or lost its regulatory permissions.
  • An appointed-representative or network arrangement changed: the adviser, network and principal firm may have different responsibilities for different dates and activities.
  • Your case was transferred: another firm may have agreed to continue the application, but a transfer is not proof that it accepted liability for every earlier act or omission.

Ask for the following in writing:

  • the old firm’s full legal name and FCA reference number, if available;
  • the new firm’s full legal name and FCA reference number;
  • the date the transfer took effect;
  • confirmation that the new firm has accepted your case;
  • the work the new firm will perform, including lender communication and document chasing;
  • who holds your file and personal data; and
  • any new fee, cancellation term or authority you are being asked to sign.

A trading name or a familiar adviser’s name is not necessarily the regulated legal entity. In the FCA’s Tenet administration example, customers could know the adviser rather than the network company, and responsibility differed according to the firm and the date of advice. That case is a warning to establish the exact entity and dates rather than assuming a transfer carries every obligation automatically. Read the FCA’s Tenet case notice.

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2. Verify the replacement firm before sharing information

Nearly all UK firms providing financial services must be authorised or registered. However, a registration entry does not by itself prove that a firm has permission for mortgage advice or arranging. Search the proposed firm and adviser in the FCA’s official records before sending identity documents, bank details or fees.

  1. Use the FCA Firm Checker to match the firm’s legal name, trading name and permissions for mortgage-related services.
  2. Check the Financial Services Register entry, including historical information, to see whether the firm was authorised during the period when the advice was given.
  3. Take telephone numbers, email addresses and postal details from the official FCA record, not solely from an unexpected transfer email or caller.
  4. Search the FCA warning list if the contact appears suspicious or the firm cannot be matched.
  5. Call the old firm through a previously known number, where that firm still operates, and ask whether the transfer is genuine. Do not use a new bank account or payment instruction until independently verified.

Ask the replacement firm to confirm its regulated status, the scope of its authority and exactly which documents it needs. A legitimate firm should be able to explain why it needs information and how it will take over lender communications. If the details cannot be verified, pause the handover and contact the lender directly.

3. Protect a live mortgage application or offer

Contact the lender yourself using contact details from its official website, existing mortgage correspondence or a secure online account. Ask the lender to record that your adviser has stopped trading or that a transfer is being checked. Obtain the following facts:

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  • the application’s current stage;
  • whether a formal mortgage offer has been issued;
  • any outstanding document, underwriting condition or identity check;
  • the valuation, conveyancing or other legal step still required;
  • the offer expiry date and any lender deadline; and
  • which firm or individual the lender is authorised to deal with.

Do not infer that your application continues unchanged merely because someone says it has transferred. In the FCA’s Tenet example, mortgage products already arranged were unaffected by the network companies’ administration, while some recent applications that had not reached formal-offer stage could be affected. That was a firm-specific event, not a guarantee for every borrower. Your lender’s confirmation is the reliable status for your case. See the FCA’s account of that distinction.

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Keep a dated copy of the mortgage illustration, recommendation or suitability report, application form, lender offer, valuation correspondence, fee agreement, emails and the transfer notice. Record every call with the date, the person spoken to, the reference number and the action promised. If a deadline is close, tell both the lender and the proposed new adviser in writing and ask who is responsible for meeting it.

4. Get a written handover from the new adviser

A phone assurance is not enough for a time-sensitive application. Request an email or letter that states:

  • the legal name of the new firm and the adviser responsible;
  • that the firm has accepted your case;
  • the date it took responsibility for the work it has agreed to do;
  • the application or lender reference it is handling;
  • the documents and conditions still outstanding;
  • the next action and its deadline; and
  • any fee, refund or new engagement terms.

Send only copies through a secure channel specified by the verified firm. If the new adviser asks you to complete a fresh application, ask whether this is required by the lender or simply an internal process, and whether it could affect the original offer, credit search or fees. Confirm with the lender before consenting to a material change.

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If no firm will confirm acceptance, tell the lender that you need to deal with it directly and ask whether it can appoint or accept instructions from another authorised broker. A replacement adviser may be able to continue the case, but you remain responsible for supplying information and meeting lender deadlines unless the lender confirms otherwise.

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5. Separate application continuity from a complaint

A changed adviser is not, by itself, evidence that the original recommendation was unsuitable or that compensation is due. Treat two problems separately:

  • Continuity problem: your immediate aim is to identify the file owner, prevent a missed lender condition and preserve an offer.
  • Complaint problem: your concern is unsuitable advice, delay, an unexplained fee, inaccurate information or a financial loss caused by the business.

For a complaint, identify the legal business that gave the advice or performed the broking work at the relevant time. Write to that business, setting out what happened, the dates, why you believe it caused harm, the evidence you hold and the outcome you want. Keep the complaint factual and distinguish losses caused by the advice from inconvenience caused by a later transfer.

The business generally has up to eight weeks to issue its response. If it rejects the complaint or the response is unsatisfactory, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) may be able to consider an eligible complaint about mortgage advice or broking. A referral is usually due within six months of the final response. Other time limits can apply, including rules linked to when the event occurred and when you knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that there was cause to complain. Check the current FOS time-limit guidance and act promptly.

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If the firm is still operating, a FOS referral normally follows its complaints process; FOS is not a substitute for asking the business to investigate first. The MoneyHelper complaints guidance explains the general eight-week process.

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6. Consider the FSCS route if the firm has failed

If the adviser’s firm has gone out of business and you suffered loss from bad mortgage advice, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) may be relevant. MoneyHelper describes a potential route where the mortgage is secured on your main home and the adviser was FCA- or PRA-authorised when trading. Eligibility depends on the mortgage, the firm, the advice and the loss; it is not an automatic payment.

The mortgage-advice route described by MoneyHelper does not cover buy-to-let mortgages, commercial mortgages or loans secured on property. Other FSCS categories have their own rules, so check current eligibility rather than assuming that every mortgage-related loss qualifies. Start with MoneyHelper’s failed-firm guidance and then follow the FSCS claim process.

Prepare the advice documents, lender offer, fee records, correspondence, evidence of the firm’s authorisation at the time and a calculation of the loss. FSCS publishes claim timing information, but says cases can take longer when it needs a broader investigation of the firm. Its claims-timescales page is therefore guidance, not a promised decision date.

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7. Choose the route that matches your situation

Immediate situation First action What the route is for
Application or offer is still live Contact the lender and obtain written status; verify any replacement firm Prevent missed conditions, expiry dates or unauthorised instructions
New adviser says the case transferred Request legal names, transfer date, written acceptance and scope of work Establish who is handling the file and what responsibility was accepted
Concern about unsuitable advice, delay or fees Complain in writing to the responsible business Give the firm the opportunity to investigate before considering FOS
Business cannot respond because it failed Check FSCS eligibility and submit evidence through its process Potential compensation for eligible loss, subject to scheme rules

FOS and FSCS are not interchangeable. FOS examines eligible complaints after the business has had the opportunity to respond; FSCS is a compensation scheme for eligible losses involving failed authorised firms.

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8. Pitfalls that can make the situation worse

Assuming the transfer is automatic

A new adviser’s involvement does not establish that it accepted responsibility for earlier advice. Obtain the transfer date, legal entities and written scope.

Relying on a contact supplied in an unexpected message

Fraudsters can imitate a broker and request identity documents or a fee. Use FCA records and the lender’s known contact route to verify the approach before sharing information or money.

Waiting for the adviser while a lender deadline runs

The lender controls the application and offer. Ask it directly for outstanding conditions and expiry dates, then document who will complete each task.

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Making a complaint to the wrong name

Address the complaint to the legal business responsible at the time of advice, not only the adviser’s personal name or a later trading name. If you cannot identify it, use the FCA historical record and the documents in your file.

Assuming FSCS will cover every mortgage

Check the mortgage type, security, firm authorisation and the nature of the loss. The main-home mortgage-advice route described by MoneyHelper excludes buy-to-let and commercial mortgages.

9. A practical record-keeping checklist

Create one folder, digital or paper, containing:

  • the old and new firms’ legal names, FCA reference numbers and verified contact details;
  • the transfer notice and the date you received it;
  • the new firm’s written acceptance and scope of work;
  • the lender’s application reference, current stage, conditions and offer expiry;
  • the mortgage illustration, recommendation, suitability report, application and offer;
  • fee invoices, payment confirmations and cancellation terms;
  • all emails and a call log; and
  • your written complaint, the firm’s final response and any FOS or FSCS correspondence.

When a case is urgent, send a short written update to the lender and the verified adviser after each material call. State the agreed action, owner and deadline. This creates a clear chronology if a complaint or claim later depends on what was known and when.

Bottom line

Identify the legal entities and transfer date, verify permissions through the FCA, and ask the lender for the authoritative status of your application. Obtain a written handover before treating a new adviser as responsible. Use the firm’s complaints process and, where appropriate, FOS for advice disputes; consider FSCS only if the failed-firm and mortgage eligibility rules fit your loss. None of these routes makes a transfer, mortgage offer or compensation automatic.

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