Nationwide, Skipton and Yorkshire are the trio of building societies to claim Which? Recommended Provider (WRP) status.
We spoke to more than 3,400 mortgage holders and analysed thousands of mortgage products to find out which lenders are top of the pile.
Read on to discover how other major mortgage lenders fared, plus find out the most common issues homeowners face with their providers.
The best mortgage lenders in the UK
All three scored a full five stars for customer service and transparency of charges, and were also the highest scoring firms when it came to flexibility of payments, each with four out of five stars.
The worst mortgages lenders in the UK
They each achieved the worst customer score of 54% out of the 22 lenders we asked about.
Customers were unimpressed with how well the three lenders keep you informed and their online access offerings, with each earning just two stars out of five in both categories.
Family Building Society and Aldermore also fared poorly overall.
Mortgage lender reviews: the full results
The table below shows how the 22 lenders ranked in terms of customer score in our summer 2023 survey.
| Mortgage provider (sample size) | Customer score | Customer service | Value for money | Ability to overpay or underpay mortgage | Clarity of mortgage statements | Online access | Transparency of charges/penalties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RECOMMENDED_BADGE(RECOMMENDED PROVIDER);Nationwide Building Society (259) | 78% | ***** | *** | **** | **** | **** | ***** |
| RECOMMENDED_BADGE(RECOMMENDED PROVIDER);Skipton Building Society (64) | 78% | ***** | **** | **** | **** | **** | ***** |
| RECOMMENDED_BADGE(RECOMMENDED PROVIDER);Yorkshire Building Society (172) | 75% | ***** | **** | **** | **** | **** | ***** |
| Accord Mortgages (166) | 72% | **** | **** | *** | *** | **** | **** |
| Santander (171) | 71% | **** | *** | *** | *** | **** | *** |
| TSB (91) | 71% | **** | *** | *** | *** | *** | **** |
| Coventry Building Society (53) | 70% | *** | *** | *** | *** | ** | *** |
| NatWest (199) | 70% | **** | *** | *** | *** | **** | **** |
| Leeds Building Society (53) | 69% | *** | *** | *** | *** | ** | *** |
| Lloyds Bank (176) | 68% | **** | *** | *** | *** | **** | *** |
| First Direct (75) | 67% | **** | **** | *** | *** | **** | **** |
| Barclays Mortgage (311) | 65% | *** | *** | ** | *** | *** | ** |
| HSBC (268) | 65% | *** | *** | ** | *** | *** | *** |
| Halifax (375) | 64% | *** | ** | ** | *** | **** | *** |
| Royal Bank of Scotland (64) | 64% | *** | ** | *** | *** | *** | **** |
| Clydesdale Bank (48) | 63% | ** | *** | ** | ** | ** | ** |
| Virgin Money (113) | 60% | *** | *** | ** | *** | ** | ** |
| Aldermore (93) | 58% | *** | *** | ** | *** | ** | ** |
| Family Building Society (48) | 55% | ** | ** | ** | ** | ** | ** |
| Kensington (188) | 54% | *** | *** | ** | ** | ** | ** |
| Metro Bank (325) | 54% | *** | *** | *** | ** | ** | *** |
| The Co-Operative (162) | 54% | *** | *** | ** | *** | ** | ** |
‘Lenders’ customer service is more important than ever’
At a time when average mortgage rates across a number of product types have reached their highest levels since the financial crisis, good quality customer service has become even more important.
Ele Clark, senior money editor at Which?, said: 'With mortgage rates at some of their highest levels for 15 years and alarming numbers of homeowners struggling to meet their monthly payments, customer service is more important than ever.
'Our research has found that some of the UK’s biggest building societies lead the way when it comes to quality service, with greater transparency over charges and - crucially - flexibility when making payments.
'The Financial Conduct Authority has now set higher standards in its Consumer Duty, raising the bar for customer service - and firms that fail to meet that bar should expect to face tough consequences from the regulator.'
How we chose the best mortgage lenders
In order to receive the coveted prize of being a Which? Recommended Provider, mortgage lenders had to achieve a customer score of more than 70% when we surveyed existing customers.
Lenders were given star ratings out of five for key elements of customer service, covering everything from value to money to online services.
We received enough responses to rank 22 banks and building societies.
As well as impressing customers, providers also had to consistently offer table-topping mortgage deals across a range of product types.
Which? advice on getting a mortgage
If you're looking to get a mortgage and don't know where to begin, we're here to help.
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source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/revealed-best-and-worst-mortgage-lenders-2023-algDa4X5PLEb