Q and A’s regarding the Allied Irish Bank Solicitor Panel from members of the public
On what basis would a law firm be excluded from the Allied Irish Bank approved conveyancing panel?
A survey recently commissioned by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority found that three quarters of law firms had been removed from a lender panel. The top reasons in order are :
- Low volume of transactions
- the lawyer is a sole practitioner
- as part of the HSBC panel reduction
- regulatory contact by SRA
- accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by Allied Irish Bank
We are due to exchange on the purchase a house but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have agreed compensation from the seller of £3k approx by way of a reduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process but my mortgage company Allied Irish Bank will not agree to this. Why was Allied Irish Bank even consulted?
Your lawyer being on the Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel is duty bound to inform Allied Irish Bank of any changes to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your lawyers to disclose the reduction to Allied Irish Bank then they would have to discontinue acting for you and Allied Irish Bank.
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to attend the offices of the Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Liverpool
so that I can attend their offices when needed.
As opposed to 12 years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Liverpool
.
We're in Liverpool, First timers buying with a mortgage (lender is Allied Irish Bank , but our solicitor is on the Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a time-frame for your conveyancing due to third parties outside of our control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain
Do conveyancing solicitors on the Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel work on a no sale no fee basis?
In the main there are no requirements by lenders for their firms to operate on a no-sale-no-fee basis. There a small number of lenders who operate a very restricted conveyancing panel managed by a third party company (often termed in the industry as a ‘gatekeeper’). That third party may impose certain conditions such as non-sale-no fee on the panel firms. If you require this as a condition of your conveyancing then you should check with the conveyancing firm that this is part of their service
Can I register a complaint to Allied Irish Bank about the lawyers being on the Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel?
There is little point in complaining directly to Allied Irish Bank. All solicitors 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.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their lawyers I paid an upfront payment of 200. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Allied Irish Bank panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
