Mortgage broker receives court orders

An Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) investigation has found a mortgage broking business engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in their recommendations to clients.

The company, Sample & Partners, which had operations in NSW, Queensland and Victoria, was found to have used fake case studies in its sales material, which were represented as being the real life accounts of past clients.

It also told potential clients they would save money and pay off their home loans quicker by switching to a Sample & Partners-arranged loan, but failed to explain that to obtain this benefit extra repayments would need to be made.

ASIC also discovered Sample & Partners failed to consider each client’s individual financial circumstances before making recommendations; only considered loans offered by a limited number of lenders on its panel; and lied about having specialist staff such as financial planners and solicitors.

Sample & Partners managing director and principal Matthew Sample and its general manager Craig Turrell were found to have aided and abetted the breaches of law.

Sample also had interests in one of the lenders on the broker’s panel, World Home Loans, to which a significant number of clients were referred.

As a result of the investigation, the Federal Court of Australia made a number of orders against the broker, including notifying past clients of the orders and implementing a process so that any borrower who wishes to make a claim for losses or damages can do so.