Write a review

Suffolk Building Society, formerly Ipswich Building Society: Mortgages reviews

Name: Mortgages
Rating: 4.63 (100 reviews)

View other Suffolk Building Society, formerly Ipswich Building Society products

4.62

Based on 100 reviews, last reviewed 21st May 2025

86% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

100% increase in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

86%

Latest highest rating:

5

Outstanding customer service throughout! I had an exceptional customer experience with Stephen as my mortgage adviser. From the very beginning of the application process, they provided clear,... Read more Reviewed on: 1st May 2025

Latest lowest rating:

1

Incompetent, frustrating and time-wasters Utterly incompetent. Took 2 months to event get our re-mortgage application processed (costing time, and money) and then every single thing we put was... Read more Reviewed on: 13th March 2025

Read all reviews See your review

About this product

Buying a home is an exciting time in anyone’s life, but finding the right mortgage product can be daunting. We collect Suffolk Building Society mortgage reviews to help you make an informed decision when choosing a mortgage lender.

Suffolk Building Society is an independent mutual building society, offering a range of mortgage products. Always be confident with the terms, conditions and interest rates of a product. Consult the lender or an independent advisor if you need help understanding your options.

If you’re considering a mortgage with Suffolk Building Society, check out the reviews on Smart Money People. Read genuine experiences to gain valuable insight into the lender. Find out which mortgage products customers have taken out and how satisfied they have been throughout the term. Learn more about Suffolk Building Society’s customer service and the benefits you can receive as a member. All of this and more can be found in our Suffolk Building Society mortgage reviews.

Did Suffolk Building Society help you purchase your dream home? Share your experience with others by writing an honest Suffolk Building Society mortgage review. Tell us about the application process: did the Society support you throughout it? Did you find the application easy to understand? Has the Society kept you up to date with any important mortgage news or changes? Would you recommend Suffolk Building Society to family and friends? Write a review today. Together, we can help people like you make better financial decisions.

Suffolk Building Society, formerly Ipswich Building Society Mortgages reviews (100)

Review of the Suffolk Building Society, formerly Ipswich Building Society, Mortgages:

Got there in the end

Overall our experience wasn't a possitive one. From a Feb 2021 engagement we ended up with a July 2021 completion. Whilst I was always able to contact the IBS team, I had to work hard to chase these communications/milestones and never felt an urgency to IBS driving these outcomes. Every time a response was made to IBS, it was subjected to a 10 working day turnaround time; this increased to 12 days towards the end of our processing. This heavily impacted the overall timetable significantly. As a self build mortgage, our engagement continues. We will draw down funds against our build milestones so this has to be an effective and timely process. Thus far, it hasn't. I find myself having to think 6 weeks ahead from the imperative date of stage funds reciept to work back factoring in IBS lead times and any additional lead time associated to instructing a revaluation of the property. This shouldn't be the norm; I've created a workaround. I understand very well the impact of remote working over the past 16 months. I understand how this can impact on day to day processes but I could not tell my Customers that their requests are sublect to a 2+ week delay. Are further resource is needed to meet your demand?. It cannot be purely attributed to the pandemic therefore perhaps internal procedures or a triage function is required to route work to the right teams at the right time. Reviewed on: 14th July 2021

Reply from Suffolk Building Society, formerly Ipswich Building Society Thank you for providing your feedback which is greatly appreciated and has been passed on to the relevant departments at the Society. I’m sorry that your application wasn’t processed efficiently and for the amount of time it has taken to get through to completion. We have recently received unprecedented application volumes due partly to the stamp duty deadline and unfortunately as a result, our usual service standards slipped below the level we aim to provide our customers with. The Society are committed to making improvements to ensure that this doesn’t happen again, as a result we have made investment within our underwriting department with further staff resource now in place and a significant IT system upgrade in the works. Thank you once again for your feedback and I wish you well with your self build project. Response date: 26th July 2021

Lots of issues with lending services who dont appear...

Lots of issues with lending services who dont appear to read documents completely. Excellent service and support from Stephen Lye. Reviewed on: 21st May 2025

Reply from Suffolk Building Society, formerly Ipswich Building Society Thank you John for your review on our mortgage service. We'll pass on your feedback and praise for Stephen. Best wishes. Response date: 22nd May 2025

Outstanding customer service throughout!

I had an exceptional customer experience with Stephen as my mortgage adviser. From the very beginning of the application process, they provided clear, thorough explanations and made sure I understood every step. Nothing was ever too much trouble—they were always patient, professional, and genuinely committed to helping me find the best mortgage option. Their outstanding customer service made what could have been a stressful process feel smooth and straightforward. I highly recommend Suffolk Building Society to anyone looking for expert advice and top-quality support. Reviewed on: 1st May 2025

Incompetent, frustrating and time-wasters

Utterly incompetent. Took 2 months to event get our re-mortgage application processed (costing time, and money) and then every single thing we put was scrutinised and questioned - even though nothing had changed since the last time we applied for a mortgage! We gave up in the end as they wanted us to spend event MORE money getting a solicitor involved. Totally unnecessary. Reviewed on: 13th March 2025

Reply from Suffolk Building Society, formerly Ipswich Building Society Hi Clare, thanks for taking the time to leave a review. We’re sorry that our remortgage service has not met your expectations. If you’d like to have a discussion with someone offline, please email [email protected]. Response date: 25th March 2025

Lynmede Mortgage - Stephen Lye

From a personal customer service perspective Suffolk Building Society are excellent. I would like to personally thank Stephen Lye for his excellent customer service and attentive nature in which he progressed what he could at pace. A true asset to the business, thank you. Reviewed on: 24th February 2025

Wonderful customer services.

Wonderful customer services. Helpful and professional when called, very understanding and caring. Nothing is too much trouble to explain. Excellent service on every call. Excellent products too. Reviewed on: 17th February 2025

Re Joe Gregory in the Mortgage Sales Team

I contacted Joe Gregory in the Mortgage Sales Team at various stages of applying for a product switch, and every time I called I found Joe very helpful in explaining things and very informative and straightforward in answering my questions. He was also extremely patient in dealing with my lack of IT skills and helping me through the various processes. I would recommend him to anyone who wanted help with a mortgage-related enquiry. Reviewed on: 10th February 2025

Suffolk Building Society - Simply.the Best

I.was.informed that.my current product was nearing completion. I subsequently spoke to.a mortgage specialist adviser (Maria) who was exceedingly helpful, extremely pleasant and I have to.add that with Maria's excellent knowledge.of product availability and professional guidance, I am 100% delighted.that.i have chosen a new.product specific to my requirements. Reviewed on: 21st January 2025

Additional borrowing. Excellent mortgage consultant.

We needed to borrow some additional money to finish the self-build that had been completed using a Suffolk/ Ipswich self-build loan. Stephen (Lye) was our consultant, and did a first class, thoroughly professional job in taking us through the process, and explaining every stage comprehensively. Stephen was a credit to the company, and thoroughly recommended. Thanks, and congratulations. Reviewed on: 20th December 2024

Excellent advice on taking out an additional advance.

Very good advice on taking out an additional advance on our Suffolk Mortgage. The Advisor (EW) explained everything clearly and helped us come to a decision re how to proceed. He was much more knowledgeable than other bank or building society advisers I have dealt with before. Reviewed on: 3rd December 2024

Reply from Suffolk Building Society, formerly Ipswich Building Society That’s lovely to hear – Thank you! Everyone’s circumstances are different, so it’s great to know our advisors are giving you what you need. We look forward to hearing from you again soon! Response date: 4th December 2024

Great delivery

A really quick, helpful response to my enquiry about extending my mortgage and this has been my uniform experience of Suffolk BS. Reviewed on: 28th November 2024

Reply from Suffolk Building Society, formerly Ipswich Building Society That’s so nice to hear – Thank you! Everyone’s got their own individual circumstances, so it’s great to hear we’re doing it well. Response date: 29th November 2024

Do you have a different Suffolk Building Society, formerly Ipswich Building Society product?

Share your experiences with products to help others make smarter financial decisions and learn more about different products available. Write a review

Alternative products

Tracker Rate Mortgage
from Barclays 3.40 from 15 reviews
Morgtages
from Platform 1.12 from 56 reviews
Equity Release
from Royal London Equity Release 0.00 from 0 reviews

There's still more to see!

Suffolk Building Society, formerly Ipswich Building Society has a range of products available. Check the ratings of each product to find the right one for you. View all products

Join Smart Money People

Keep up to date on ratings of your favourite businesses. Find out about our awards and write new reviews with ease

Create an account

News, guides and insight from our team

View resource hub