By the end of December 2002 if mortgage intermediaries still wanted to provide advice to the public they had to have passed one of two examinations.
Whilst over 50,000 advisers did pass the exam by the deadline the Mortgage Code Compliance Board has warned that many have not.
The MCCB oversees mortgage advisers and firms and ensures that they comply with the conditions of the Mortgage Code, which basically gives added protection to consumers. A spokesperson for the MCCB said, "the MCCB would stand by its promise to ensure that any mortgage advisers working independently in the industry were suitably qualified to practice". He also said "the ultimate sanction is to remove them from the register". By doing this, the adviser would be unable to place mortgages with lenders and therefore unable to trade.
See our general article on adviser qualifications. How qualified is your adviser?