A remortgaging service which is continually searching for new deals and alerts customers the moment it finds a product worth switching to is being hailed as a ‘comparison site killer’.
Dashly’s ‘always-on’ mortgage platform is attempting to surpass traditional mortgage searches, where people wait until the end of a fixed period to look for a new deal.
Instead, the newly-launched service, is always scouring the market and will notify individual homeowners whenever it pays to switch.
It does this by constantly comparing thousands of products every day and testing them against each customer’s circumstances.
During this process it will take into account anticipated switching costs such as exit fees and early repayment charges, even if there are a number of years left on a borrower’s current deal.
Often, even with switching costs, it can work out cheaper to move to a new deal.
Waiting list
Andrew Hagger, a personal finance expert, said the platform would become the ‘default way of sourcing your next mortgage’. And, he added: “I think once people have used Dashly for the first time they will no longer have the need to visit a traditional price comparison portal again.”
Dashly is part of a growing range of so-called robo-brokers which use innovative technology to find borrowers the best mortgage deal for their individual circumstances.
But Dashly’s ‘always on’ status, which automatically compares borrowers’ ever-changing circumstances, is what makes it unique.
As such the service is currently being piloted under the watchful eye of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means Dashly is restricting the number of people it signs up each week and prospective users may be asked to join a waiting list.
However, once on board, the service is free to use and takes minutes to set up, said Dashly.
Ross Boyd, founder of Dashly, said: “Today’s technology means there’s no need to manually compare the market for a mortgage ever again. Dashly does this for you, testing every mortgage against your unique circumstances every day, regardless of whether you have been on your current deal for two days, two weeks or two years.”
He added: “For us the real problem is helping people to save money on their mortgage when they are not looking and without them having to lift a finger. That’s what solves the real problem, which is consumer inertia.
“To require a customer to manually update their own information in the age of open banking is both antiquated and absurd. Dashly only needs setting up once but it will continue to serve homeowners for the rest of their lives.”
