Q and A’s regarding the Virgin Solicitor Panel from members of the public
My financial adviser has informed me that I have to pay Virgin fees should I instruct my family lawyer. How efficient are the Virgin conveyancing panel solicitors? I dont care which law firm I use provided that they are good and not exorbitantly priced. Are there any Virgin conveyancers you'd recommend?
Virgin’s conveyancing panel is substantial so your best bet is just to check with the firms you are getting quotes from whether they are on it. You can search by postcode on the search tool on this site to find solicitors that Virgin will allow to act for them.
Expecting to move into my new home next Tuesday. I have now been asked to send a copy of my building insurance schedule by my solicitor as as he informs me that he is duty bound to validate that it is in order for Virgin. What does the insurance need to cover?
All property lawyers on the Virgin conveyancing panel would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in Virgin’s Part 2 requirements of the CML Handbook (last updated on Virgin). Being on the Virgin conveyancing panel your lawyer is expect to follow these requirements.
Do all the licensed conveyancers and solicitor practices listed on your directory have online case tracking as I understood that this was a condition of being on the Virgin solicitor panel?
No. There is no CML Part 2 or Building Society Association requirement relating to online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
I am attempting to get my former partner removed the mortgage deeds. Can Virgin really insist on which solicitor I can or can not instruct?
You can use any solicitor you like but Virgin then has the right to appoint a different solicitor to act for them at your expense. It might be more cost effective and quicker to instruct a lawyer who is on the Virgin solicitors panel
The for formalities of my purchase has taken place with a loan from Virgin. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about Virgin. How does one go about formally complaining?
Most lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the Virgin branches or the Customer Services Team at Virgin head office. Ordinarily complaints to Virgin are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel that the matter is not resolved you can write to the
Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 200. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Virgin 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 Virgin 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.
At last I have had an offer on an apartment accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What do I do now? At what point should I appy for the mortgage with Virgin?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Virgin conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Virgin and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
