The challenge
De Hypotheekshop has a new revenue model in which consumers pay for the advice they receive, in contrast to the rest of the market where costs are linked to unseen commission. According to De Hypotheekshop, commissions are not in the consumer’s interests and are a disproportionate incentive to sell as many products as possible. Paying for advice is a new concept for consumers however; they are not used to doing so. In order to create a level playing field, De Hypotheekshop wants to make its revenue model standard in the market.
IvCB’s approach
IvCB has initiated a broad social discussion about commission and the transparency of charges for advice. To do this, various angles of approach to the media were set up, with the result that De Hypotheekshop’s managing director’s vision was brought to people’s attention all over the country. An advertisement concerning the issue, in the form of an open letter to the minister, was placed in the Financieele Dagblad newspaper. Relevant stakeholders and their interests were mapped out and suitable messages developed in a parallel process. Discussions with Members of the House of Representatives, the minister and other stakeholders were prepared, supervised and followed up. Coalitions were formed, including one with the Consumentenbond, the consumer organisation.
The result for the client
As a result of the social discussion, the dislike of commission among the general public and political decision-makers increased. De Hypotheekshop set the tone in a round table discussion with the sector in the House of Representatives. All of this led to the House of Representatives calling for commission to be restricted and to the minister announcing a ban on commission. The minister mentioned De Hypotheekshop explicitly in this context as an example for the entire market.
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