Earlier this week, the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL) issued a warning to brokers over the increasing number of unscrupulous bridging firms who are charging large, non-refundable application fees for short term loans that never materialise.
Although ASTL made it clear that none of their members had been involved in such scams, they underlined that the practise is becoming more commonplace and brokers need to be cautious about choosing reputable short term lenders to work with.
Chief executive of ASTL, Adrian Bloomfield, branded firms charging applicants excessive fees for short term loans before dropping out of the deal “improper and dishonourable” and added that ASTL members “wish to disassociate themselves from the companies against whom complaints and allegations have been made.”
Commenting on the warning from ASTL, Roger Morris from bridging loans company, Affirmative Finance, which is also an ASTL member, condemned the practise, saying: “At no point does Affirmative Finance charge upfront fees. We always make fast decisions and do as much as possible before an evaluation is completed. The good thing about our company is that we don’t even charge our client if the application doesn’t get completed for legal reasons.
“My advice to brokers would be to associate themselves with a reputable company and to check out their policy before applying with them. I don’t know of any bridging companies that are running this scam, which is a good thing, but I can imagine they would be smaller bridgers with limited funds who are desperate for money and to keep cash flow going, even if it is at the expense of their clients.”
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