Media release
8 March 2010
David v Goliath: Mates Rates Under Attack
Corporate franchise giant Refund Home Loans has gone on the attack threatening to sue
independent mortgage broker Mates Rates over an advertisement that depicts the franchise
broker as delivering one of the worst refund home loan offerings on the market.
In a threatening letter from one of the largest legal firms in Australasia, independent
renegade Mates Rates is accused of passing itself off as Refund Home Loans.
The allegation relates to an internet advertisement that compares mortgage offerings,
revealing Mates Rates offers a bigger refund and better home loan help than their much
larger competitor.
“As our website states, Mates Rates delivers borrowers a National Australia Bank home loan
over $49,000 below retail, whereas with the other guys, you might as well go to the bank,”
Mates Rates founder Trent Lee says.
“It’s a ridiculous case of sour grapes because Mates Rates refunds save borrowers ten times
more than theirs does.”
“Mates rates refunds commissions because we care about borrowers getting a better deal.
Refund Home Loans is more interested in big, fat profits just like the banks.”
Mr Lee invented the idea of refund home loans using 100 per cent of trailing commissions to
help borrowers in 2002, several years before any of his competitors offered anything like it.
He says he is at a loss to understand the threats issued by the franchise giant.
“It’s like McDonalds changing its name to Hamburger, then suing the inventor of hamburgers
because the original tastes better, costs less and is still called a hamburger,” Mr Lee says.
Last year, Mates Rates upgraded their system to enable borrowers to select, rank and view
different lender options using Canstar CANNEX Star Ratings.
“Mates Rates offers borrowers a lot more than just the largest savings,” Mr Lee says.
“Our model has been built around the needs of the borrower, which means we have
continued to innovate and take it up to the big guys.”
In a battle of David and Goliath proportions, Mates Rates is set to stay the course to pass
better value on to home loan borrowers.
“Mates Rates will continue to fight to deliver good old-fashioned service where the customer
comes first even if the big end of town is determined to try to stomp it out,” Mr Lee says.
The landing page for the advertisement can be found here:
For further information contact Trent Lee on 02 4350 0904 or 0412 607 294
E: trent.l@ui.net.au
About Mates Rates Mortgage Brokers
Like the old Australian adage, Mates Rates prides itself on giving clients better prices and
service. Things that make us different are:
Mates Rates mortgage brokers do not work on commission. They are salaried
employees.
We pay 100% of ongoing lender commissions back to the borrower each month and do
not deduct any fees from these payments.
Trent Lee, the founder of Mates Rates (previously Property HQ Pty Limited) invented
refund home loans using 100 per cent of trailing commissions. Mates Rates remains the
only business in Australia passing this saving on to borrowers.
We are the only mortgage broker in Australia which ranks and compares different
mortgage choices using CANNEX Star Ratings.
Mates Rates also provides free, easy to understand reports which list everything
borrowers need to know before choosing a loan. (Sample Attached)
We help borrowers all over Australia.
We are a full service mortgage broker which continues to support borrowers throughout
the life of their loans.
There is no additional cost for our service.
A brief history
2002 Trent Lee begins work on a better value mortgage broker method
2003 Patent application lodged for commission refund home loans model
2004 Mortgage broker launched as bSmart
2004 bSmart appears on Today Tonight refunding Trailing Commissions in an Australian first
2004 Customers say bSmart is hard to remember and one suggests Mates Rates
2005 Renamed Mates Rates because the Customer made sense
2006 Mates Rates develops simple, customer reports providing leading edge transparency
2007 Mates Rates appears on Today Tonight
2008 Mates Rates Featured on Channel 9 'Extra' in a segment called 'Refund Home Loans'
2009 In another Australian first, Mates Rates introduces CANNEX star ratings to mortgage
selection criteria
NEWS 
