Over the last year it has become very apparent that we brokers have
made life far too easy for lenders and dealers. We are at the sharp
end invariably making excuses for their errors or shortcomings. As
a result we are verbally abused and threatened through no fault of
our own but do we get any help and support? Do we heck as
like.
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Sometimes the abuse starts with a very simple question from a
customer who has been good enough to place his business with us. He
asks when he is likely to receive his car. Quite a simple question,
one would think. The response, more often than not, is “Um, dunno,
can I get back to you in 20 minutes?” Okey dokey, not a problem, a
quick call to the customer assures him that we should have an
anticipated delivery by the end of the day.
Three bloody days later and 12 phone calls result in a sharp intake
of breath and the information that you and your customer have been
desperate to receive: “Er, about six weeks.” Now bear in mind that
when the deal was offered the cars were ‘in stock’, information
that we very foolishly passed on our customer. Now we are left with
the problem of explaining this to the customer whilst the dealer
clears off to the pub for scampi and chips and a pint without a
care in the world.
I now have to dig into my list of ‘dealer excuses’ to make it sound
credible that a car that was supposed to be in stock cannot now be
delivered for 6 weeks. God forbid that the car has to be routed
through the blackest of black holes known as the import centre.
That’s it, because you know that as big as a car is it can be lost
in a second in an import centre.
By the time the car finally arrives with the customer he’s lost all
interest in the car and is threatening me with everything from
solicitors to removing my gentleman’s sensitive parts and nailing
them to my office door.
Automation for the people, please
But the lenders are not blameless. The fact that few are totally
automated means that information on our own applications is not so
easily picked up by the admin staff, but does it really take three
days to notice that a director’s date of birth is missing when in
fact it was on the form next to his name? Let’s get automated here
and stop using bits of paper and faxes.
It would help also if the underwriters spent more time underwriting
than joining their mates at the dealership for scampi and chips and
a pint. At the time of writing I am still waiting for a decision on
a deal that was proposed a month ago but of course Christmas was in
between so the underwriters were probably away for three weeks
soaking up the sun with their dealership friends!
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