Metro Finance Arvostelua 

An appalling, humiliating and completely unacceptable experience

I would give Metro Finance zero stars if that were possible.

Our application was handled by Grace Hopkinson, whose level of professionalism, communication and customer service was, in our experience, completely inadequate for someone dealing with such an important and sensitive process.

We provided Metro Finance with an extraordinary amount of private financial information for a Shared Ownership application. We were asked about virtually every aspect of our lives: shopping expenses, phone bills, subscriptions such as Netflix, childcare costs and numerous other household expenses. We cooperated fully because we believed we were dealing with qualified professionals helping us purchase a family home.

After this extremely intrusive process, our application was apparently rejected because our combined income had been calculated at £90,200 — only £200 above the £90,000 threshold.

However, when we asked Grace Hopkinson to explain how that figure had been calculated and exactly what information the rejection was based on, we were told that this could not be disclosed to us. This is completely unacceptable. Metro Finance was happy to demand every private detail of our financial and personal lives, yet refused to provide transparency about a decision made using that same information.

We had completed similar Shared Ownership assessments with other brokers and housing providers only a few months earlier. Our employment, income and personal circumstances were essentially the same, and those assessments had been accepted. Metro Finance was the only company to produce this outcome, while refusing to properly explain its calculations.

The attitude we experienced from Grace Hopkinson was dismissive, disrespectful and, at times, felt almost mocking. As an Italian applicant with a Spanish partner, the way we were spoken to made us feel extremely uncomfortable, unwelcome and treated without the respect that any customer deserves. I cannot state what motivated that attitude, but I can state clearly how it made us feel.

Even more unprofessionally, the rejection was communicated to the company selling the property before it was properly communicated to us, despite the fact that we were the applicants and had provided all the information. We were treated as though our involvement and feelings were irrelevant.

Because of the way the case had been handled, we requested to speak to a supervisor or manager. Unfortunately, the manager’s response was no better. Rather than investigating the situation, reviewing the calculations or addressing our concerns, the response was essentially that Grace Hopkinson had already made the decision and, because the application had been rejected, nothing more could be done.

A manager’s responsibility should not simply be to defend an employee regardless of what has happened. A competent manager should listen, investigate, explain the decision and take responsibility for the service provided. None of that happened.

We were not purchasing a household appliance. We were trying to buy a home for our family. A process of this importance requires competence, sensitivity, transparency and accountability. In our experience, Metro Finance, Grace Hopkinson and the management team demonstrated none of these qualities.

Based on the way our application was handled, I genuinely believe Grace Hopkinson should seriously reconsider whether a customer-facing financial role is suitable for her. The lack of clarity, empathy and professional accountability was astonishing.

This was one of the worst customer-service experiences we have ever encountered. I would strongly advise anyone considering Metro Finance to think very carefully before providing them with their most private financial information.

We will also be submitting a formal complaint and seeking legal advice regarding the handling of our application, the lack of transparency surrounding the decision and the way our personal information was used.

Rob & Joel made the process easy, kept me informed throughout. Extremely polite and understanding. They did everything possible to get me to the end even though my case was not the easiest to sort. Extremely grateful to each of them for their help.

Metro has been amazing. Really quick and professional. Especially Asad, he has been a massive help and is very appreciated.

Joe was brilliant from start to finish. He helped us get signed off for a development and made the whole process so much easier. He was always quick to respond, attentive, and happy to answer all of our (sometimes stupid) questions. Nothing ever felt like too much trouble.

I had a great experience with Metro Finance throughout affordability assessment. Arun and Ben were both fantastic to work with, they were efficient, responsive, and incredibly helpful from start to finish.

They were always available to answer my questions, kept me updated throughout the process, liaised with lenders on my behalf, and handled all the document checks and verification promptly. Their professionalism and support made what could have been a stressful process much smoother.

I would highly recommend Metro Finance, to anyone looking for knowledgeable and reliable advice.

As a first time buyer, Metro made the experience extremely easy, and were great at communicating at every step of the process. I’d highly recommend Metro, a massive thank you to Rhoda, Lois and Caitlin for all their help.

All in all very smooth and a very good experience. Throughout the whole process there was never a moment where communication was an issue. The £500 broker fee was most definitely worth it (especially considering others charge more for barely half as good service). Thank you to Metro and if you’re just starting out, they definitely work for their money!

Lois handled my application and was great, from start to finish. She was pleasant and professional and always on hand if I needed to ask anything. She handled the whole process very efficiently. Nicholas gave good advice and had a nice manner about him, which was reassuring. Thanks very much to you both.

Arun was super helpful and dealt with all of my documents immediately.

Really positive experience with Metro Finance helping us secure our new mortgage. The whole process felt smooth and much less stressful thanks to their support.

Special thanks to Chelsea and Craig, who were both brilliant throughout — always quick to respond to any questions and great at explaining everything clearly. Their help and reassurance were really appreciated. Would definitely recommend!

Rhoda & Lois have been an excellent help during my first time buying a shared ownership property. Rhoda was extremely prompt and had called me the moment an email was shared or when I went back with questions. While I didn't go ahead with the mortgage, I am happy with the process of the affordability checks and other documentation we had to run through. Thanks!

Zero star if I could give it. If you are applying rent to buy and Metro Finance is your financial advisor, good luck with them.

Repeated administrative error such as wrong names for identity check and uploading another clients affordability report to our profile. Back and forth asking for right to rent/identity checks, even we have already done so.

Keep asking us to submit additional documents from overseas just for only a fund transfer to a family member. We are FTB who has submitted valid credit reports (from their chosen provider) and affordability docs (payslips+savings for the deposit & 1st month rent).

We could not get the property we reserved because of their unprofessional conduct and unfair assessment. We have already drafted a complaint to FOS and FCA.

Rubbish. Keep getting different messages about what documents they need. Uploaded them several times but nothing seems to work, just get messages telling me to do it again. I haven't got a clue what is going on, but I'm expected to trust Metro with all my financial data?

Metro Finance were really quick and efficient. Robert and Daniel were really helpful and worked to get me ready for the next steps on the purchase of my shared ownership house.
Thank you

Fantastic experience from the team especially Ben and Rob who have helped me get my first home

Excellent communication and very helpfull thru all my process of buying my first home.I will give MetroFinance more then 5 ⭐️.

Excellent customer service. Very good communication.
Very helpful throughout the process.

All staff we spoke to were friendly, professional and fully answered our queries. The portal was very user friendly. Great communication with our Case Handler who ensured that everything went through smoothly and as quickly as possible. I would recommend Metro Finance.

From start to finish Nathen couldn’t have been more helpful. He kept me updated all the way through the process and was all done within about 3 days. I can’t thank him enough.
Matt

Huge thank you to Nathan Mills & Daniel Cooke, from start to finish my overall experience was amazing.
Nathan passed my stage 1 within 10 minutes and Daniel had requested documents and had signed me off within 2 days.
Incredible service - thanks guys!