FAQs for the St James Place Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
I am in the process of selling my apartment and the EA has just texted me to say that the buyers are switching solicitor. The excuse is that St James Place will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major mortgage company only engage 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 Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lenders point to the increase 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 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.
Our conveyancer is asking me for proof of ID documents stating that this is part of his requirements as a conveyancer on the St James Place Solicitor panel. Am I being spun a yarn?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that St James Place also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with St James Place CML Handbook requirements last updated on St James Place
I am planning to acquire a property and need a conveyancing solicitor in Leeds who is on the St James Place solicitor. Can you recommend a local conveyancing firm?
Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for St James Place . We don’t recommend any particular firm.
The firm that just started acting on my house acquisition in Hendon has without warning closed. I only went with them because I needed a solicitor on the St James Place conveyancing panel and my preferred lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know 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 will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the St James Place 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 should be in a position to help
My brother and I have agreed a price on a flat I spoke to a conveyancer recommended by my dad and he advised using a solicitor approved by St James Place. The estate agent recommended two local firms so I asked St James Place if the 2 suggested solicitors are approved, which they are not. St James Place pointed out that either firm can fill out the appropriate forms to become approved. Do I (1) save myself the aggravation and use one of St James Place 's conveyancing panel solicitors (2) Use the local solicitor and accept there may be delays etc as they go through the approval process.
Enquire of St James Place to suggest a law firm in your location. Lenders have them all over the country. You can also use our search tool at the top of this page to search for a lawyer on the St James Place conveyancing panel based on location. If you particularly like the sound of one of the local lawyers that you have spoken to ask them if they would go onto St James Place conveyancing panel as it may only take about 2-3 weeks. As long as they meet St James Place’s requirements it can be a very simple job for the solicitor. Other stuff will be going on in parallel (as you are at an early stage) so it may not delay matters.
The for formalities of my remortgage has taken place with a mortgage from St James Place. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about St James Place. How do I make a complaint?
Most lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the St James Place branches or the Customer Services Department at St James Place head office. In most cases complaints to St James Place are resolved very quickly. If you feel that the matter is not resolved you can write to the
Financial Ombudsman Service at South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
My husband and I are buying a flat in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon are about to begiven the go-ahead. My colleaguesuggested that we enquire that the solicitor in Hendon is on the St James Place solicitors panel. Is this really necessary?
Far from all Hendon conveyancing solicitors are on the St James Place conveyancing panel. 8 people a month use our search tool to locate a Hendon conveyancing practitioner on the on the St James Place solicitors pane.