Uproar over broker loans

Licensees across the UK have been left out of pocket after promised loans have failed to materialise.

Complaints about Gateway Finance.co.uk, which is based in Wimborne, Dorset, have been streaming in to The Publican's offices since last spring.

Licensees claim they have been promised a loan or mortgage, paid an administration fee of £350 and have not received the deal they have been promised.

Some have even paid arrangement fees of nearly £2,000 while others have paid for a valuation costing up to £1,600 and have still not been provided with the deal they were promised.

We have also heard from licensees who were guaranteed a refund, which failed to arrive. Others claim they have never heard from the company again.

Steve Reed (pictured)​, licensee of the Miners Arms in Merthyr Tydfil, has been trying to get his £350 back since April 2003 when he was promised a £60,000 loan through Gateway Finance.co.uk. He has a county court judgment against the company but because it has changed address on a number of occasions the court bailiffs have not been able to recoup the debt.

"I filled in the documents for Gateway Finance.co.uk with the £350 and sent them back. Then I never heard from it again. Initially when I got hold of them I was promised a refund."

Richard Steele, licensee of the Welcome Stranger in Crowborough, East Sussex, says he was promised an unsecured mortgage of £100,000 through Gateway Finance.co.uk. In a letter from the company dated January 28, 2004, it states: "We envisage there to be no problem in obtaining the loan amount required." After paying £1,140 he received a formal letter from the lender offering a loan for just £57,000.

"It told us that it could guarantee us the money, that's why I paid the fees. They promised to refund me £500. I have not heard from them since April."

Mike and Penny Barnes, licensees of the Coach and Horses in Hacklinge, Kent, have been trying to get back £2,200 they paid to Gateway Finance.co.uk when they were verbally promised a mortgage of £250,000.

"The company told me that it had a deal on the table with a good interest rate and what I needed to do was send the money first. When I got the offer back it was not the offer we had agreed. I kept writing to them, threatening them with solicitors but they have never contacted us."

Gateway Finance.co.uk has denied knowledge of some of these clients and asked for any complaints to be forwarded to the Office of Fair Trading.

The Publican decided to withdraw the advertising of Gateway Finance.co.uk at the beginning of October 2004 following a number of complaints.

• Gateway Finance Ltd, a company based in Berwick Upon Tweed, is in no way related to Gateway Finance.co.uk.

Gateway Finance.co.uk responds:​

"Where Gateway Finance takes a £350 administration fee and the client has not disclosed his circumstances truthfully, Gateway does not offer a refund and this is clearly stated in our terms of business.

"Gateway will instruct a professional valuation company in order to value a client's premises, however, where the valuation has been down-valued obviously we can only arrange finance on the true valuation. We would not refund the valuation fee at this stage due to the fact that we have paid this out.

"With regard to offers, it is Gateway policy never to guarantee that a loan can be arranged due to the fact there are many aspects that can fall down."

Gary and Clive ThomasDirectors