Adam & Company Conveyancing Panel Sample Enquires to our Call Center from members of the public
I am selling my house and the estate agent has just called to warn that the buyers are switching property lawyer. The excuse is that Adam & Company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major mortgage company only work with specific lawyers?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
Can you help?. For no fault of my lawyer but, the conveyancing for my house purchase has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Adam & Company was date stamped random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 6. My solicitor has advised that as she is on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel she needs to redo the searches as they are no longer valid.
One of the many conditions to being on the Adam & Company approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Adam & Company)which specifies that a local authority search be not more than 6 months old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to Adam & Company.
Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Adam & Company approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the Adam & Company conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the Adam & Company solicitor panel.
The lawyers that just started acting on my purchase in Brighton has without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I needed a solicitor on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel and my preferred lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to help
Are all Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel?
A selection of banks and building societies now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of firms.
In what circumstances might Adam & Company amend or withdraw their mortgage offer?
Banks and Building Societies such as Adam & Company can withdraw their mortgage offer although this is unusual. In the unlikely event that Adam & Company withdraw their offer they may or may not inform you or the lawyer as to the reasons why. There are many potential reasons but here are a number of examples:
- Many mortgage offers have an expiry date. Your lawyer should check this. Adam & Company may amend or withdraw an offer before the end of its validation period if an offer extension is requested and following a re-evaluation of the property the value of the security is below a level which is acceptable to them.
- If the borrower informs Adam & Company of a change in security address
- Amendments if purchase price adjusted and the loan to value limits exceeded by this. Please note that Adam & Company conveyancing panel solicitors would be obliged to notify Adam & Company of a change in the price of the property.
- Where the purchase price and borrowers direct contribution differ to details on the mortgage application form completed by the borrower
- If the solicitor on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel acting for the applicant, borrower, mortgagor or guarantor cannot comply with Adam & Company ‘s instructions
I have not been happy with the level or service received from my lawyer. Is there a Adam & Company conveyancing panel complaints department or do I complain directly to the law firm?
Complaining to Adam & Company about their conveyancing panel is unlikely to yield much of a response. Every solicitor firm and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. You can get information from the solicitor’s or conveyancer’s website or ask at their office. They must tell you about it if you ask.
The Legal Ombudsman will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the solicitor. It can also advise you how to complain.
If a licensed conveyancer does not have a complaints procedure or will not tell you about it, contact the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the conveyancer. Please see below for more information.