Bank of Scotland Private Conveyancing Panel Information

The Scottish Law Society has suggested that solicitors should check their lender panel status prior to accepting client instructions to act. The advice is lender-agnostic as it does not relate specifically to solicitors on the Bank of Scotland Private conveyancing panel. The recommendation arises from the practice of a number of mortgage lenders who remove solicitors from their panels without prior notice as part of their panel management system, which can lead to some solicitors discovering this only once instructed. This is sensible advice as a client finding out midway through a transaction that their lawyer is not on the approved lender panel is very frustrating and can lead to complaints. Many online consumer forums contain posts where someone is complaining about finding that their lawyer is not on a lender conveyancing panel. Such forums include moneysavingexpert.com

Each lender has different criteria. We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the Bank of Scotland Private conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

Whether the firm has ever applied for accreditation and the outcome of the application

top-up split and history of any refusals

Full career history for each licensed conveyancer including registration date with Council of Licensed Conveyancers

List of fee-earners who are foreign qualified

List of all those who can sign off the Certificate Of Title

conveyancer client account(s) details

SRA or equivalent regulator registration number where applicable

Charge registration history

Structure of firm and, where applicable, its group

Number of lender conveyancing panels the firm is currently on

We can't comment specifically on Bank of Scotland Private. Many major lenders are now introducing ‘file auditing’ as standard practice in relation to completed matters. This raises questions of confidentiality in relation to the buyer client and the purpose to which the results of such audits will be put. The starting point is to remember that the file does not belong to your firm, it belongs to the ‘client’. But, of course, we will normally have two clients – the buyer and the lender - and you will owe a duty of confidentiality to each. So basically, you have to separate the file and just send the lender the parts solely relating to themselves. But, of course, as this will basically be correspondence with the lender, mortgage instructions etc.

Check with your COLP but a firm should not send the complete conveyancing file without the buyer client’s express consent – and if she is in dispute with the lender she is hardly likely to agree. However, if the lender can establish a prima facie case of fraud, then you may be under an obligation to disclose the whole file.

The emerging convention is that lenders are including an authority to disclose in loan application forms to counter this problem. Mortgage Express v Sawali, [2010] EWHC 3054 (Ch) indicates that such provisions are valid. Please click here for more information about that case.

During 2013, 0 sections of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook P2 were changed by Bank of Scotland Private. Some changes are more important than others but as a firm on the Bank of Scotland Private conveyancing panel you are of course obliged to comply with individual lender requirements, as set out in Part II of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. Locktons have recently pointed out in an article that non-compliance with Part 2 requirements account for a number of high value claims, and it is therefore important to be aware of any particularly onerous terms that an individual lender may impose.

Remember: CML requirements are not guidelines; they are the lender client’s instructions.

You should provide details of the date of removal, information on the reason for removal, date of appeal and any reason given for reinstatement. This should not negatively affect your application but gives the Law Society a complete picture of what has gone on.

You would be advised to contact Bank of Scotland Private to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook incorporates a specific question for lenders to set out who to contact to obtain standard documents. Bank of Scotland Private in their Part 2’s state: It helps to disclose your Bank of Scotland Private conveyancing panel number.