Consumers increasingly want to go online to get and compare mortgage quotes, according to research from Contact State.

In a survey of 5,000 consumers, the tech firm found that, while just 17% began their search online the last time they looked for mortgage quotes, 34% said they would go online next time – a rise of 100%.

It also found that while only half (54%) got more than one quote before proceeding with their last mortgage, 73% said they would now get more than one quote, with 42% saying they’d get at least three online quotes.

Data worries

However, borrowers have growing concerns about the security of their personal information, and are increasingly unhappy with the way it is being handled.

Contact State found that the majority of consumers have at least some concerns about sharing their data to get an online mortgage quote (just 33% said they had none), while 24% say they have felt ‘forced’ to share their data to get a mortgage quote and 29% had a negative experience when getting a quote.

Of those who have had a bad experience:

• 24% said it was unclear they’d have to submit personal details to receive an online mortgage quote
• 24% expected to receive an online quote but were called instead
• 29% were contacted by a company different from the one they submitted their details to

Unsolicited calls

Receiving unsolicited calls as a result of sharing data online is one of the biggest concerns, with nearly three-quarters of consumers having received cold calls over last 12 months. They received five unsolicited calls each, on average.

The vast majority (90%) said that the fact their number has been passed on makes them feel ‘concerned about their data’, while half (48%) who received a cold call said it made them feel angry.

Thomas Brett, head of mortgages and lending at Contact State, says the findings should be a wakeup call for the industry: “Gone are the days of getting one mortgage quote and then proceeding – people want to take more control of their financial decisions.

“Our data shows that the landing pages they are seeing when they search for quotes are becoming increasingly ‘deceptive’, presenting themselves as an instant quote or calculation when in fact, they are lead generation pages, and this is causing them to feel quite negative towards the entire experience.”