Can I change my mortgage broker if he submitted a decision in principle already?

[Alexatancu]

So we're interested in buying a new build and found a broker online which we decided to go with as they didn't charge us anything (they'd get commission from the lender) and they are whole of market brokers.

We spoke on the phone and decided to get a decision in principle and later we decided to also book a face to face appointment as we had plenty of questions about buying a new build. Since we submitted the forms required for the decision in principle on Monday morning we haven't heard from him as to when we can expect a result so we emailed him only for him to say that we have passed it but hasn't sent us the document and said we'll go through it at the face to face appointment.

We asked if he can still send it to us today as we are curious to see who the lender is and what the lender has agreed to lend us.
He flat out refused to send it to us and even asked what the point of coming to the face to face apportionment was! We explained that it's because we have other questions we want to ask him regarding the new build buying process and he was very rude about him.

Now, can we change brokers and ditch him if he already submitted a decision in principle? Would it affect our credit scores if we now go with a different broker and submit another dip?

As far as I know a AIP just puts a soft search on your credit score so won't change it. I remember barclays telling me I could get several AIPs if I wanted but it would be pointless. Its easy enough to get an AIP yourself without a broker

DIPs are usually soft search, but not always. Can you check your credit report and see?

I got 2 DIPs when I bought - the first one I did myself online direct with the bank because some estate agents were insisting you had one before viewing. The second was via a mortgage broker with who I actually went to get a mortgage with once I'd had an offer accepted. It had no impact at all - but the first one I had made sure was a soft search before doing it.

Yes it was a soft search, I'll double check with the new broker if the lender will also do a soft search now to be sure

AFAIK a DIP doesn't count as an application on your credit file. When we were looking, we didn't use a broker and I applied for quite a few DIPs directly on different banks' websites. They asked for minimal information to be honest - basic details of income and main outgoings - and gave me a DIP instantly that I could print out.

As long as you haven't committed to some sort of contract with the broker, there shouldn't be any issue switching. You can always ask him to confirm the situation (though it sounds like communication might be a bit difficult!).