cherry forum reveals broker frustration at ‘shocking wait times’

17 July 2023

Brokers have vented their frustration on the cherry broker forum about ‘shocking wait times’ to speak to lenders.

According to research by cherry, the average time a broker has to wait on hold to speak to a lender is just under 33 minutes, with the longest wait being 153 minutes, according to one of the brokers surveyed.

This is in stark contrast with the amount of time brokers believe would be acceptable to wait, which the research found was just under five and a half minutes. According to the survey, the best lender for answering the phone quickly is Coventry Building Society, with Accord, Skipton Building Society and Aviva also mentioned.

Posts on the cherry broker forum have echoed the results of the research, with one broker saying: “Is it just me or is every lender providing diabolical service at the moment?”

Another comment was: “Long wait times having ‘become the norm’ is just not acceptable. People just want the old days of proper values and good service back.”

Brokers also expressed their dislike of live chat, with one saying they “far prefer actual people” and another broker suggested “BDMs need real time access to client cases to actually be useful”.

Donna Hopton, Director at cherry, said: “Brokers are clearly frustrated about the time they spend hanging on the phone to speak to lenders. The cherry broker forum gives brokers a secure environment where they can share their frustrations and ideas, and the fact that we are receiving record traffic month-on-month shows that this is needed now more than ever. Brokers being able to share their thoughts on cherry, means the service provides a vital support network, especially during challenging periods such as this.”

Sharon Boyle heads the property sector at leading outsourced communications provider Moneypenny, which works with estate agents, commercial agents, mortgage lenders and brokers across the UK. She said: " The impact of poor lender response times is far reaching – it’s wasting brokers’ time, adding pressure to an already busy market, and causing delays to the house-buying process.

“The frustrations shared on the cherry forum should be a timely warning for lenders as they show just how damaging poor customer care is to business. Brokers are under tremendous amounts of pressure due to lending criteria changing on daily basis, so lenders need the right resource to keep up with call volumes and deliver professional and empathetic support.

“There’s a real opportunity for lenders to make greater use of people and technology and harness tools such as live chat, chat bots and first line call resolution services to help triage enquiries and give brokers the support they so desperately need.”