Stafford Railway Building Society Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

COMPLETIONmonitor is an online pre- and post-completion checklist for residential conveyancing lawyers. Supported by the CML and PI insurers. COMPLETIONmonitor is a unique risk management tool.

This system assists the way you can prove to lender panels that you are, and can stay fully compliant with their requirements, with automatic updates on Stafford Railway Building Society’s changes. Notwithstanding that utilising the tool is not a condition for acceptance on the Stafford Railway Building Society panel, demonstrating you can remain up to date with Stafford Railway Building Society’s Handbook requirements is a helpful support to your panel application and, more importantly, safeguard your firm’s panel standing.

COMPLETIONmonitor creates real-time alerts, automatically produces compliance and CQS reports, and will improve your firm's efficiency. It is also user friendly, cost-effective and, for many firms, results in reduced PII premiums.

Find a Law Firm approved by Stafford Railway Building Society

Banks and building societies frequently change their requirements. The BSA instructions from Stafford Railway Building Society are not guidelines, they are instructions from a client. As with many clients, instructions can change - and they do change, over time:

A Timeline of Policy Changes


Since 2010, Stafford Railway Building Society has made 5 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the BSA Requirements.
That equates to a section change every 546.0 days. In total, 3% of the sections of the BSA Requirements for Stafford Railway Building Society have been changed since 26/1/2010.

To find out more about lender panel compliance,

Book a Personalised Demo

Recent Changes Include

# Date Assoc. Changes Related To
E.12 21/03/2016 BSA
Mortgage Advance Mechanics
Details as to how Stafford Railway Building Society pay the mortgage advance to conveyancing panel lawyers
D.34 06/05/2014 BSA
Leasehold Conveyancing
Stafford Railway Building Society panel lawyers leasehold conveyancing requirements : minimum unexpired lease term
E.12 06/05/2014 BSA
Mortgage Advance Mechanics
Details as to how Stafford Railway Building Society pay the mortgage advance to conveyancing panel lawyers

Last update 13/03/2019

Common questions asked concerning the Stafford Railway Building Society Solicitor Panel from members of the public

The solicitor I had intended to instruct on a remortgage said she will levy higher legal fees if my mortgage is with Stafford Railway Building Society because of their difficult processes! Will I regret using Stafford Railway Building Society? Is Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing so much more difficult?
Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders. It is the case now the CML Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender. It is not clear if your lawyer is on the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Stafford Railway Building Society will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
Our lawyer has uncovered a problem with the lease for the flat we are buying. The seller’s lawyers have suggested defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that as he is on the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or Stafford Railway Building Society?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and Stafford Railway Building Society are the client. A precondition to being on the Stafford Railway Building Society approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Stafford Railway Building Society). The CML Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that Stafford Railway Building Society can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Stafford Railway Building Society 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 Stafford Railway Building Society 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 Stafford Railway Building Society solicitor panel.
I was scheduled to complete on my flat two days ago. My lawyer’s firm is on the Stafford Railway Building Society solicitors panel but has moved offices 8 weeks ago and had not advised Stafford Railway Building Society of their new address. Stafford Railway Building Society is now refusing to release my funds as the information from the solicitors isn't correct.
This is as unusual as it is unlucky. Most lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local Stafford Railway Building Society branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can assist.
I have agreed a price on a house I spoke to a solicitor previously used by my dad and he recommended using a property lawyers approved by Stafford Railway Building Society. The estate agent recommended two local firms so I asked Stafford Railway Building Society if the 2 suggested solicitors are approved, which they are not. Stafford Railway Building Society pointed out that either practice can fill out the appropriate forms to become approved. Do I (1) save myself the aggravation and use one of Stafford Railway Building Society 's conveyancing panel solicitors (2) Use the local solicitor and accept there may be delays etc as they go through the approval process.
Ask Stafford Railway Building Society for conveyancing panel firms in your area. Most banks have lawyers on their panel throughout the UK. You can also use our search tool at the top of this page to search for a lawyer on the Stafford Railway Building Society 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 Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel as it may only take about 2-3 weeks. As long as they meet Stafford Railway Building Society’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.
I'm in the throws of looking at apartments and am about to put in an offer. Is it best to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a home loan with Stafford Railway Building Society
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on the the estate agent. As you are getting a mortgage with Stafford Railway Building Society , ask your prospective lawyers check they are on the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
Completion of my purchase has taken place with a mortgage from Stafford Railway Building Society. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about Stafford Railway Building Society. How does one go about formally complaining?
All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the Stafford Railway Building Society branches or the Customer Services Team at Stafford Railway Building Society head office. We understand that complaints to Stafford Railway Building Society are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel that the matter is not resolved you can write to the Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.