Almost a fifth (17.5%) of UK brokers have been held as ‘data prisoners’, research from Smartr365 has revealed.

Smartr365 said the ‘data prisoners’ are those who are effectively trapped to CRM systems by complicated methods and/or extortionate fees to retrieve data. Of those who reported experiences as data prisoners, over a quarter (26%) were charged over £1,000 for the return of their data. One in twenty were charged at least £10,000, with one in fifty charged over £20,000.

Despite this, just under nine in ten respondents (86%) agreed that a mortgage application journey led by tech is safer than its paper-based equivalent. This reaffirms confidence in the mortgage tech sector despite obvious failings around data handling in some instances.

Thora Kehoe, chief product officer at Smartr365, commented: “Wrongful data handling is not only holding brokers to outdated and ill-fitting tech platforms, but also limiting the growth of the mortgage industry. This is a scandalous practice that deserves much more attention.
 
“We call on all tech platforms to be transparent – in terms of their pricing, offering, and data handling. That almost a fifth of brokers have been unfairly penalised indicates that the problem is widespread, so it’s vital we don’t let this become a chronic issue which stymies the progress of our industry. Let’s stamp out these murky tactics to build a clearer and brighter future for all.”

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