How we chose
We started from the nineteen mortgage brokers Google Maps shows across Telford. Authorisation statements were taken from each firm's own site and advice directories, since the FCA register pages could not be searched directly. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is at a checkable address, it is trading today and can be reached, and an FCA authorisation statement stands behind its advice. Twelve firms met all three. What customers say counts most toward the score, then the authorisation footing, then whether the firm has traded two years or more and whether its fee is stated, then website detail. All evidence is dated early September 2026.
How to hire
Match the adviser to the job first. A straightforward purchase or remortgage is a different brief from self-employed income, adverse credit, a portfolio of lets or commercial borrowing, so say which one you are on the first call. Ask how wide the search runs: some brokers search the whole market, others work from a limited panel, and a few are tied to one lender, and the adviser must tell you the limits upfront [2]. If you are buying a new-build, ask whether the search runs beyond the developer's panel before you treat a recommendation as the market.
Check authorisation before you share documents. Search the firm's name on the Financial Conduct Authority register and check the name and number on screen match the business you are hiring [1]. A directly authorised firm answers to the regulator itself, while an appointed representative acts under a named principal firm that carries the responsibility, so note the principal's name from the firm's own site. Then match the company number and address at Companies House to the firm on your quote [7].
Settle how the adviser is paid before any search starts. Brokers earn a fee from you, commission from the lender of around a third of a per cent of the loan, or both, and guides put fixed fees at a few hundred pounds with percentage fees of up to one per cent and a typical three-tenths of the amount borrowed [4] [5]. Ask when the fee falls due, whether anything is payable if the deal falls through, and whether the first consultation is free. Get the answers in writing on the firm's own terms, not just in an email.
Insist on a personalised illustration for each recommended deal. The illustration sets out the monthly payment, the overall cost expressed as an annual percentage, and every fee you must pay, including booking, arrangement, valuation and legal costs, plus what happens if you repay early or rates rise [3]. A lower rate with a large arrangement fee can cost more than a higher rate with a small one, so compare the overall cost on the same loan size and term rather than the headline rate alone. Ask for a fresh illustration if the rate or fees move before you apply.
Expect questions about your whole budget, not just the loan. The lender must check you can afford the payments now and after a rate rise, so bring recent payslips or accounts, bank statements, proof of deposit and ID to the opening appointment. Protection such as life, critical illness and income cover will usually come up in the same conversation; treat it as a separate decision, ask what commission it carries, and never feel pressed to bundle it with the mortgage to keep the deal.
End with the paperwork in one folder. Keep the mortgage illustration, the formal offer, the written fee agreement and any protection documents together, and note the firm's complaints route, since an unresolved complaint can go to the Financial Ombudsman. If the broker stops replying, changes the fee or swaps the deal without a fresh illustration, pause and ask why before you sign. Free consumer help with a trader dispute sits with Citizens Advice [6].
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, national guides put broker advice anywhere from no direct fee, with the broker paid only lender commission of around 0.35% of the loan, to a fixed fee of a few hundred pounds, with around £500 the most common figure and percentage fees of up to 1% against a typical 0.3% [4] [5]. A free first conversation is common, but check whether the advice itself is free or only the opening chat [2]. Firms here that state a fee sit inside that span; the rest publish none, so their quotes do the talking.
The advice fee is only part of the bill. MoneyHelper lists the lender-side costs buyers may face: booking £100 to £200, arrangement £1,000 to £2,000 or more, account fees of £100 to £300, and valuations commonly £150 to £800 [3]. Paying these upfront avoids interest on them for the life of the loan, so ask what each fee buys and whether a higher rate with lower fees costs less overall.
Complexity moves the fee most. Standard purchases and simple remortgages cluster at the fee-free or lower fixed end, while self-employed income, adverse credit, portfolio lets and commercial cases take more work and sit higher. Face-to-face advice through a high-street office also tends to cost more than an online-first service. Say what your case involves before you accept a fee.
Get the tax and timing in writing. None of the ten firms in this round publishes a VAT position, so ask whether the quoted fee includes VAT or adds it on top. Confirm when it falls due, on offer, on completion, or in stages, and whether anything is payable if the purchase falls through. A fee added to the loan gathers interest like the rest of the borrowing, so only agree to that in writing after seeing the illustrated cost [2].
Red flags
Gives mortgage advice under a name you cannot find on the FCA register, either directly or under a named principal firm [1].
Will not say in writing whether it charges a fee, takes lender commission, or both, or when the money is due.
Quotes a fee but will not confirm whether anything is payable if the deal falls through.
Recommends a deal without asking for income, spending and plans, the material an affordability check runs on.
Presses life or critical-illness cover as the price of the mortgage advice rather than a separate decision.
Sends you toward an application with no personalised illustration showing the monthly payment and every fee [3].
Asks for the full advice fee in cash up front, with no written terms or receipt.
The bottom line
For most Telford borrowers, start with Dwello Mortgages: the fee is stated before you commit, the opening consultation is free, and contact runs across phone, message and booking form. If you would rather meet a broker across a desk in town, the Southwater branch opens on Saturdays, while Win Financial gives Newport buyers a published fee with a broad lender search. Match a complex case to OSL and commercial borrowing to Wilton & Co.
Then run the same checks on your shortlist: search each firm on the FCA register, ask how the adviser is paid and when, and get the recommended deal as a personalised illustration with the monthly payment and every fee shown. Bring recent payslips or accounts, bank statements, proof of deposit and ID to the opening appointment so the affordability check runs on real figures.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.