Soooooo slow ! no flash stuff on the web pages - but this is finance !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Rerated - For updates please see bottom of opinion!
Charcolonline has advertised heavily over recent months with claims that it can help you find the best mortgage deals out there from the myriad of products on offer. So does it live up to its claim?
~~~~~~~~ Navigation: ~~~~~~~~ The site is really easy to navigate being split up into sections each of which deals with a different area of mortgages from remortgaging to first-time buyers. It is not difficult, even for the most technologically challenged or financially inept to work out where you should be. In common with many financial websites where a term may need to be explained there is a hyperlink to a definition which is contained in a new pop-up window so that you do not lose where you are in the process or any information that you have already filled in.
~~~~~~~~~~ Site Contents ~~~~~~~~~~ The site contains many useful features, all of which are really easy to use. Want to find out how much you can borrow? Go to the Calculators menu at the top of the page and select the "How Much Can I Borrow" option - how easy can it get?! Other calculators include what it will cost you in repayments and a very useful Flexible Mortgage calculator. For those who have not yet caught up with this latest product available to homeowners the flexible mortgage is designed to let you overpay your mortgage to reduce the amount of interest you pay and yet still let you have access to overpaid funds if you need them. Interest is usually calculated daily. Run properly they should be able to take years of your mortgage commitment. The Flexible Mortgage calculator is good because it allows you to see just how much of an effect over-paying your mortgage by £10 a month can have. It also allows you to put lump-sum payments in to see what effect that has.
If you are not sure what kind of mortgage you need there is a facility which will point you in the right direction following a series of basic questions. If you are unsure of your needs however I would not rely solely on this as the questions are quite basic and do not delve deep enough into your personal circumstances.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mortgage Wizard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The piece de résistance of the site must be the Mortgage Wizard. Again different wizards are available depending upon what type of product you are looking for. Type in a few details and hey presto! the wizard will come up with a table of suggested products suited to your needs. Against each of the listed products is a button marked "VIEW DETAILS" which will bring up a new window containing easy to understand details of the product. These tables appear to be updated on a daily basis.
Not only do you get details of the rates and lenders but also how much each mortgage will cost you to maintain it and to redeem it.
~~~~~~~~~~ Apply Online ~~~~~~~~~~ The site allows you to make a mortgage application online (make sure you have full details of your salary, employer etc before you do apply) or you can email them for an application form. Many of the deals are specially negotiated for Charcol and are thus only available online and not through the specific lenders. You will also not pay a brokers fee by going through Charcol. I have only just submitted an application so I will update this opinion when I know how easy it is and how quickly they deal with requests.
~~~~~~ Call Me ~~~~~~ A very useful feature of the site is the "Call Me" button - click this at any stage during the process and enter your phone number. A calling centre will then call you back (within about a minute!) and then connect you to someone who can deal with your query. Very efficient and it does not cost you a penny!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bulk Buy Anyone? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A very new addition to the site and an indicator of the success of the site and its acceptability to lenders is their new Bulk-Buy mortgages. Rather like lets-buy-it.com Charcol have negotiated special rates with certain lenders if they can book a certain amount within a specified time - the more people they get signed up the lower the rate offered. What is interesting is that Charcol do not seem to promote these products over and above the standard products which is encouraging - they will appear in the same places in the tables as they would have done prior to the bulk-buy discounts being arranged. These offers are short-lived however, so if you want to get in on the act read the closing date very carefully!
~~~~~~~ Overall? ~~~~~~~ A fantastic site which lives up to its advertising….. I'll let you all know how I get on!
UPDATE 22 FEB: Still no news from Charcol or First Active - hope this isn't indicative of what's to come....
UPDATE 22 MARCH: Still having problems, Charcol are not returning our calls or emails. They also have lots of original documents in their possession and we don't know how long they will have them for! This is their RAPID REMORTGAGE service! Whoops - re-rate required!
UPDATE 23 April: Seems the site is well set out and their call-back procedure is in place but still no mortgage.... We cannot get to speak with anyone at Charcol (case handler or supervisor) and nearly four months have elapsed.... I should point out that there is nothing unusual about our application, we do not have strange covenants on our property and neither my husband nor I have credit problems and the application was approved a couple of months back..... I would hate to see their standard times if this is the "Rapid Remortgage"! Again a re-rate.....
UPDATE 25 May: Still no joy, we are still waiting for our "Rapid Remortgage" to be sorted. Our customer adviser is still elusive and no-one knows what is happening. We have had repeated requests for documentation that has been provided to Charcol and lost by them despite it having been hand delivered to their offices twice... sorry... another re-rate.....
UPDATE 1 June: I was promised a telephone call on Tuesday, it didn't come so I chased on Wednesday and again yesterday and still no response as to what is going on. This is starting to cost my Husband and I serious money and when things do get sorted I will be complaining in no uncertain terms to Charcol BEWARE - The Rapid Remortgage that takes 4 months!
I suggest you locate your provider through Charcol and then approach them direct.....waiting for the middleman could prove to be a long wait!
I haven't changed the ratings of the individual features of the site below, despite this being a one star product now. My analysis stands, the site is good, the service is hopeless.
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