The Chorley & District Building Society Conveyancing Panel Recently Asked Questions
from members of the public
My fiance and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. The Chorley & District Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.
In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme.
Your solicitors should contact The Chorley & District Building Society and see if they can apply for membership of the The Chorley & District Building Society conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable The Chorley & District Building Society will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the The Chorley & District Building Society conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
can you help? My conveyancer is advising me that he is legally obliged to apply for a Local Authority search stemming from the fact that the firm are on the The Chorley & District Building Society approved lawyer panel. Do I not have a choice here?
You have limited options available to you. As you are taking a mortgage with The Chorley & District Building Society your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of The Chorley & District Building Society’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated The Chorley & District Building Society. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
Do all the firms listed on your directory have online case tracking as I understood that this was a condition of being on the The Chorley & District Building Society conveyancing panel?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders or BSA do not require online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
The solicitors that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Brighton has suddenly shut down. I only went with them because I needed a firm on the The Chorley & District Building Society conveyancing panel and my family lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately 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 The Chorley & District Building Society 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
Can I be sure that the solicitor on the The Chorley & District Building Society panel is any good?
Getting recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always suggest that you speak with the solicitor conducting your transaction
The for formalities of my purchase has taken place with a loan from The Chorley & District Building Society. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about The Chorley & District Building Society. How do I make a complaint?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the The Chorley & District Building Society branches or the Customer Care Department at The Chorley & District Building Society head office. We understand that complaints to The Chorley & District Building Society are resolved very quickly. If you feel that the matter is not resolved you can write to the
Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
Can I register a complaint to The Chorley & District Building Society about the lawyers being on the The Chorley & District Building Society conveyancing panel?
There is little point in complaining directly to The Chorley & District Building Society. 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.
