Adverse credit, business volumes and broker fees were among the most talked about topics for June on the cherry adviser forum.
The forum attracted more than 5,000 unique visitors during the month, and among the five most popular topics being discussed was cases being declined by the high street due to historical adverse credit.
Some advisers had seen applications declined where the missed payment was more than 15 years old.
Another popular thread concerned the low number of new business enquiries in recent months, with brokers discussing tops for promoting business and taking on more specialist cases.
Brokers also discussed whether they charged clients a fee, and if so how much.
Fourth on the list was the topic of whether to recommend fixed rates or trackers in the current environment, and fifth was the issue of clients challenging previous recommendations, and the importance of robust documentation.
Outside of the top five, other topics that were popular in June included product withdrawals, dual pricing, and lengthy wait times for lenders.
Donna Hopton, director at cherry, said: “The cherry broker forum provides a secure environment within which advisers can share their thoughts, frustrations and thoughts on best practice and the most popular topics for June provide a snapshot of the current environment for intermediaries.
“It’s a challenging environment, with low transaction levels, lenders taking a more cautious approach and clients who are feeling the pinch, cost-conscious and sometimes misinformed by the media, their friends and family.
“In this environment in particular, having access to a forum of like-minded individuals who face similar challenges, can provide brokers with a vital support network and we’re seeing record traffic to the cherry forum, with more visitors month on month.
“We’re also seeing more traffic in the evenings and at weekends, which demonstrates the significant role that cherry has established in the lives of brokers.”
