Lenders who still refuse to use plain English

As in any field, specific terms are used but providers are inconsistent in their vocabulary.

Advisers and mortgage brokers who work with particular lenders understand their choice of terms but the problem is compounded even for these professionals when they approach other providers by the lack of uniformity.

Chancellor George Osborne recognised this difficulty and asked the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and consumer group Which? to introduce a “tariff of mortgage charges” with standardised terminology.

The dual aim is for customers to understand charges and to be able to compare deals. Under the proposed new arrangement, lenders will list fees in the same order and have the same descriptions. They are to publish such information including on their websites.

However, there remains an awkward squad who will not come into line with this voluntary scheme. Whilst 85 per cent of the property lending market has signed up, a recalcitrant but significant minority has ignored the invitation to join.

This group of lenders presumably does not wish to make it easier for their existing and potential customers to compare the total costs of different deals. Confusion over the true cost of mortgages will continue until this significant group of banks and building societies join their forward looking peers.

With 11.1 million mortgages in the UK representing a staggering loan value which exceeds £1.3 trillion, residential mortgages are big business.

As 2016 gets further underway, it is a shame that key lenders prefer to hide or obscure the true costs of undertaking business. The CML and Which? should name and shame those who continue to try to hoodwink an already confused public.