Unreasonable demands, unprofessional service, personal bias & poor service – wasted my time & do not recommend
I recently applied for a mortgage through Mortgage Line and was extremely disappointed with their approach.
They refused my applications on the grounds that I would not provide bank statements older than 6 months. Despite me explaining that I didn’t have and this goes well beyond current standard practice (and is not what other brokers and banks required — they only asked for 6 months), Nicholas continued to demand additional paperwork, repeatedly blaming "the banks and lenders" for the extra requirements.
When I confronted him about this inconsistency, he admitted that lenders typically require a minimum of six months but claimed he wanted extra statements for the deposit source. The whole process felt unnecessarily obstructive. I genuinely felt he had taken a personal dislike to me with no apparent reason. When I mentioned that I already had an Approval in Principle (AIP) from another broker and that I didn't see why this should be an issue, he became visibly flustered and went red in the face. It came across as unprofessional and spiteful.
This confirms he was imposing his own extra rules rather than following lender requirements. The process felt unnecessarily difficult and frustrating, bordering on abusive given how inflexible and dismissive he was.
I understand due diligence is important, but this went far beyond reasonable requirements and felt personal rather than procedural. I would strongly advise others to avoid Mortgage Line and deal directly with banks or more reasonable brokers.
EDIT AFTER REPLY: "Thank you for the response. However, two other regulated brokers and a bank were able to process and approve my application with standard 6-month documentation, which suggests the extra requirements were not strictly necessary. I appreciate regulatory duties, but the process felt unnecessarily obstructive.
More concerning: I submitted a formal GDPR erasure request, which Nicholas confirmed in writing had been completed. Yet your reply states that you "personally reviewed my file."
2ND EDIT AFTER ADDITION: "Thank you for the addition. Noted that you confirm the data deletion was completed. However, the initial response stating a personal review of my file remains inconsistent with that confirmation. I will pursue this separately with the Data Protection Commission."
Reply from MortgageLine
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
I have personally reviewed and discussed the matter in detail with the Mortgage Adviser.
I'm genuinely sorry that you came away feeling disappointed, as providing a professional and supportive service is something we take great pride in at MortgageLine.
As a regulated mortgage broker, we have a responsibility not only to our clients, but also to our regulatory obligations. While many mortgage applications only require the standard documentation, there are occasions where additional information is needed to verify the source of funds and satisfy anti-money laundering requirements. These requirements can vary depending on an applicant's individual circumstances and may differ between lenders and other brokers.
Our advisers will not submit a mortgage application where information required to satisfy lender, regulatory and money laundering requirements is missing. We appreciate that this can sometimes be frustrating, but our experience has shown that identifying and resolving potential issues early gives our clients the best possible chance of achieving a successful mortgage approval and helps avoid delays or complications later in the process.
Following my review, I am satisfied that Nicholas acted professionally, courteously and in accordance with both our internal standards and our regulatory responsibilities. I do not accept the suggestion that any requests made were personal in nature or influenced by anything other than the requirements of the application.
Out of respect for your privacy and confidentiality, it would not be appropriate for me to discuss the specific details of your application in a public forum.
For anyone considering MortgageLine, our promise is simple: we will always act in our clients' best interests, provide honest advice, and prepare every mortgage application thoroughly. We will not take shortcuts that could jeopardise our clients' chances of mortgage approval.
I appreciate you taking the time to leave your feedback and sincerely wish you every success with your property purchase.
Addition to reply: to confirm we did comply with your data deletion request. (Removed the word “file” above as that was not accurate and a typo). I discussed your case in detail with Nicholas.
As per my original reply we cannot hypothesise about what other banks asked you for or what period of bank statements they reviewed.
We need to comply with our money laundering and compliance procedures and make sure there are no grey areas or unexplained lodgements so underwriters can make approval decisions with as little back and forth as possible.
Genuinely wish you all the best for the future.
Update: The use of the word “file” was a typo. Your data was deleted as requested and happy to reply to any further queries directly with the data protection commissioner.