David Titherington, of The Mortgage Station, shares how consistency, communication, and care protect client trust
When markets shift quickly and clients grow anxious, service standards are often the first thing to slip. For David Titherington, founder of The Mortgage Station and a one-man brokerage, the challenge isn’t scale, it’s communication.
“I’m a small mortgage business. I don’t have admins or anything like that,” he said. “So communication is key.”
To stay on top of each case, Titherington sets up individual WhatsApp groups for clients and sends quick updates when delays arise. “If I know I’m not going to get to their application that day, I just drop them a message - ‘You’re on my list, should be moving on to yours tomorrow.’ And they love that,” he said. “They’re not always used to that kind of service.”
Consumer Duty as a catalyst
For Titherington, the introduction of Consumer Duty has been a chance to reassess and improve - not overhaul.
“It made us all refocus a bit,” he said. “On the mortgage side, things are pretty steady. But with life insurance, we’ve changed our process.”
Now, protection conversations start earlier and run deeper. “We tee it up at the start, then when we sit down properly, they already know we’re going to have that chat. And it means when we do, it’s more in-depth, more meaningful.”
Rather than rush through product types, he breaks them down carefully, from critical illness to decreasing and level cover. “They come out of it knowing way more than they thought they would. And it helps them make a proper decision.”
Technology also plays a part. “Our CRM now sends automatic emails when a mortgage completes but there’s no life cover yet,” he said. “It prompts both me and the client. Plus, it generates risk reports, which makes those conversations easier.”
Compliance through consistency
Keeping service high while meeting regulatory requirements isn’t about shortcuts, Titherington said - it’s about sticking to the process.
“I don’t deviate,” he said. “As long as I follow my process, I know compliance is tight and clients get what they need.”
He also takes time to explain the why behind document requests and budget checks. “You bring them into your world a little bit,” he said. “Once they know why it takes time, they’re usually absolutely fine with it.”
When service works, clients stay close
For Titherington, the clearest sign that service levels are working isn’t in KPIs, it’s in how clients behave once the mortgage is done.
“If you get in touch after they’ve got the offer - for life insurance, or wills, or something else - and they’re still responsive, that means something,” he said. “And if they’re still replying a couple of years down the line when it’s time to remortgage, that’s even better.”
Referrals are his primary driver of growth. “Customer service is my biggest form of marketing,” he said. “If you’ve done a good job, they’ll tell their friends, and that should keep you busy without needing ads or anything like that.”
Willingness to pay broker fees is another subtle signal. “If they send the fee over without any pushback, it usually means they felt like they got good value,” he said.
AI has promise, but trust still matters
Titherington has started to explore how AI could support his work - though cautiously. “Some of the lender bots are amazing, especially for criteria,” he said. “I asked a pretty left-field question once and it gave me a precise answer - I still rang a human to double-check, but it was spot on.”
He’s currently in talks with developers about using AI to extract data from bank statements - automatically tagging groceries, bills, and utilities into categories. “That would save loads of time,” he said. “It’s probably out there already, but I haven’t found the right one yet.”
His network, Stonebridge, continues to enhance its proprietary CRM, including automated features and a client portal. “There’s no AI in it yet, but it’s evolving,” he said. “Something will happen, it’s the way it’s going. Whether we like it or not, we’ve got to embrace it.”
