The Money Group offers free to access mortgage support for those on furlough

There are currently an estimated 9.5 million people on the government support scheme which was designed to prevent large scale redundancies following the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown.

The Money Group offers free to access mortgage support for those on furlough

The Money Group has created a free to access helpdesk and website to help consumers understand their options while on furlough.

There are currently an estimated 9.5 million people on the government support scheme which was designed to prevent large scale redundancies following the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown.

While the market has returned to some sort of normality since the easing of restrictions announced in June lenders have reviewed many aspects of their criteria.

In particular, mortgage lenders are taking a much closer look at people who have been placed on furlough or taken mortgage payment holidays.

Martin Stewart (pictured), director The Money Group, said: “We have seen a 300% increase in enquiries across the brands in the past two weeks alone and it is fair to say the consumer is now more confused about what their borrowing options are than at any other time that I can remember.

"The same can be said for our 50 advisers where every day is a now a school day and we are having to relearn many aspects of pour job that we once took for granted.

"Many of the enquiries we are receiving have, in some way, been affected by furlough and with the scheme now starting to unwind we expect to see more complex situations coming our way.

"We therefore we wanted to be able to offer the consumer a free helpdesk and resource which we can offer nationwide due to our 12 office locations”

Corey Whelan, director of Cambridgeshire Money, added: “We are delighted to have set up the free helpdesk, along with a website and live chat we believe this will give comfort to the consumer to understand the products available for them during this period.

"Lenders are still open for business and are showing a common-sense approach to most applications which is great to see and we greatly appreciate how hard all the lenders, solicitors and valuers are working at the moment.

As advisors we have a duty of care to manage the client’s expectation during these times and explain lenders may change products and criteria during this unprecedented time.

"There could also be delays but we want to help make things as simple as possible for all those involved.”