Bank of Ireland Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Example Support Desk Enquires from members of the public
I am in the process of selling my maisonette and the EA has just texted me to say that the buyers are switching solicitor. The reason given is that Bank of Ireland Mortgages will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only work with specific lawyers?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud as the reason 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 being contacted daily by practices 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.
I am buying a new build apartment and my conveyancer is informing me that she is duty bound to disclose incentives from the builder as her firm is on the Bank of Ireland Mortgages conveyancing panel. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and I dont want to delay the conveyancing. Can I insist on an exchange regardless of what my lawyer says about being on the Bank of Ireland Mortgages panel?
You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on the Bank of Ireland Mortgages approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Bank of Ireland Mortgages). The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
I am purchasing a house and require a conveyancing solicitor in Liverpool who is on the Bank of Ireland Mortgages conveyancing. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?
Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Bank of Ireland Mortgages . We don’t recommend any particular firm.
The solicitors that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Hendon has without warning shut down. I chose them because I had to have a lawyer on the Bank of Ireland Mortgages conveyancing panel and my preferred lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. 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 Bank of Ireland Mortgages 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 lawyers should be in a position to help
When it comes to lenders such as Bank of Ireland Mortgages do lawyers have to be pay a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I have not been happy with the level or service received from my lawyer. Is there a Bank of Ireland Mortgages conveyancing panel complaints department or do I complain directly to the law firm?
There is little point in complaining directly to Bank of Ireland Mortgages. Every solicitor firm and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. Usually one can find this 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 an apartment. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor I paid an upfront payment of 225. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Bank of Ireland Mortgages 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 Bank of Ireland Mortgages 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.
