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As many as three million UK consumers are no longer being served by traditional banking providers – they have become disillusioned and disenfranchised.

According to Datamonitor, 5% of UK consumers would not go to traditional institutions to handle their money matters and this number is growing daily. People are sick of being force-fed financial products that will not help them while at the same time being treated like cattle. The banks are failing people on advice.

But this is dangerous, because as Datamonitor says, many people are simply not getting the advice if they do not go to their bank. Anna Large, financial analyst at Datamonitor says: “Since the onset of the financial crisis two years ago, the numbers who have lost trust in the industry is in large part the result of a general lack of understanding surrounding complex financial products. Often, they simply don’t understand.“

Large says people needs to be educated about banking. If they do not understand finance then it is a lot more likely they will abuse or be abused by the financial products they take out. This leads to financial hardship and debt that may take a long time to pay off.

The key for these disillusioned banking customers, and everyone else in the UK, is to talk to a real person about your personal finances. Whether it be saving, borrowing or insuring, by talking to a professional financial adviser you'll find that everything becomes clearer. They key is to be treated like a real person when it comes to finance, not a customer.

SOURCE: Datamonitor, 23/04/10

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New research shows that banks and building societies are viewed as two of the worst service providers of any industry in the UK – if you are sick of the banks, get your financial advice and products from someone with a personal touch.

According to Moneysupermarket.com, whilst energy suppliers and estate agents are bottom of the pile, banks were not far off for making consumer annoyed, disenfranchised and confused.

Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com says: "Whilst banks and building societies have taken a beating due to the economic downturn this isn't any excuse for poor service.

"Providing a top quality service to customers is something far too many providers fail to see the benefit of. Yet a reputation for bad service can be difficult to shake off, and many more consumers are feeling empowered enough to switch providers if they have a bad experience. The main problem stems from the fact that the industry has gone down the automated route and as a result has lost some personality."

If you choose to get financial help from a professional adviser, the experience couldn't be more different. It's a one-to-one service where you can get your voice heard. Every client is treated as a unique person not a number, and you know that if anything goes wrong or if you are concerned about anything, there is a real, breathing person at the end of the phone who knows your name at any time.

It's interesting that hairdressers came top – their business relies on people coming back after receiving a personable, professional service. That's the same for a financial adviser – for their business to work they need their clients to come back, again and again so you know they will give you the best service possible.

Montford says: "The art of good customer service need not be so tricky, simply by moving off the script and talking to customers in a more personal, sympathetic way, banks could do a lot to improve the way they are perceived."

SOURCE: Moneysupermarket.com, 22/04/10

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It's a huge step and one that should always be done with the help of a mortgage broker, but for those contemplating buying their first home things aren't too bad.

Of course, the biggest hurdle for first-time buyers is the deposit. Many mortgages will demand at least 25% deposit, and that equates to many thousands of pounds – which for many young people is nigh on impossible to find. That said, there are options out there and by asking a broker you might find that you could get onto the housing ladder.

It might be that you could get hold of a shared ownership mortgage. You may be able to use your relatives to help you get a home or you may be able to set up a decent savings plan so as to be able to get the deposit together in a short space of time.

If this is possible, Moneynet.co.uk says things all of a sudden look a lot rosier. Moneynet.co.uk expert Andrew Hagger says: "If a first-time buyer can overcome the deposit hurdle, albeit a very steep one, then the overall situation is far better than it was at the peak of the housing market in autumn 2007."

Hagger says that the correction in house prices combined with not having to fork out for stamp duty make the situation less severe than some would have you believe because cheaper properties mean smaller and cheaper mortgages – the total cost of a first-time mortgage over three years has fallen to £24,306 in the first quarter of 2010, compared to £29,258 in quarter three of 2007, a saving of £4,951 which can go towards paying a first-time mortgage.

Hagger says: "If you can make the effort to save the sum required, your efforts will be rewarded with a place of your own and lower monthly mortgage costs for the next three years at least."

SOURCE: Moneynet.co.uk, 19/04/10

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More people are getting hold of a mortgage as new figures show activity in the mortgage market is steadily increasing across a variety of borrower profiles – the spring homebuying season has kicked off strongly and looks set to continue.

According to Moneysupermarket.com, borrowers going online to look for a mortgage has gone up a third in the last month – things haven't improved entirely, but more banks and building societies are offering more home loans to borrowers.

Hannah-Mercedes Skenfield, mortgage channel manager at moneysupermarket.com, says: "We saw an instant spike in activity amongst those looking to buy their first home in the week following the Chancellor's announcement on stamp duty in the Budget and we did wonder whether this would be a kneejerk reaction that might not be sustained.

"However, we can clearly see from our numbers that momentum remains high, and this has spilled over into other homebuyer profiles. What's more encouraging is that rates seem to be improving continually, so people looking for a mortgage should find themselves able to access some pretty good deals as we head towards summer."

Just because the thaw in the mortgage market is helping out more borrowers, it isn't time to get complacent. Although competition seems to be returning to the mortgage market, there are still products with low rates but high fees, and some of the best deals are only available to people who have a large deposit.

To get through the mortgage minefield talk to a mortgage adviser about what is out there for you and what you have to do to get it.

SOURCE: Moneysupermarket.com, 14/04/10

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The banks are still in deep freeze when it comes to lending, they simply will not budge for many borrowers – so should we be looking to the UK's building societies to help us get the mortgage credit we need?

It might be that the safe, sensible bankers who work in the mutual sector have come out of the economic crisis better than ever. Some building societies did suffer and unfortunately fold, but the large majority have kept up their ethic of lending out only what their members have deposited.

One example is Wales' largest building society, Principality. It has reported a 187% increase in the number of borrowers taking out a mortgage in the first three months of this year, compared with the same period last year.

In fact, it said that February marked its biggest ever volume of mortgage applications since November 2007 – prior to the onset of the credit crunch – with lending for the month stretching over £143m.

Graeme Yorston, chief operating officer of Principality, says: "These figures are a good sign of the gently recovering confidence in the housing market. The average mortgage rate has been steadily decreasing since the middle of last year and this, coupled with more affordable house prices has encouraged a healthy mix of buyers."

So should all borrowers be flocking to their building society? Not necessarily – while it's great that the building societies are still offering mortgages, it might be that the best loan for you is a loan from a bank or a specialist non-bank lender. By talking to a professional mortgage broker you can find out where the best mortgage for you is being lent and what you need to do to get it.

SOURCE: Principality, 09/04/10

To keep up with the latest news and comments on the mortgage market please visit the Mortgage Broker Blog.