Coutts & Co Conveyancing Panel Information

One might ordinarily expect Coutts & Co via their Part 2 conditions to address this but the Handbook makes no mention on deadlines to send deeds. You need to look at the Terms of Coutts & Co’s Conveyancing Panel Appointment that you are bound by. For many lender's these Terms contain a clause along the following lines: ‘To keep us informed of the reasons for any delay in your being able to send the title deeds and documents we require to us within 3 months of completion or evidence of proof of registration within that period. (We will send reminders if the deeds have not been received but will not acknowledge receipt of deeds’ It is important to keep Coutts & Co updated. Law firms can often compound their problems by not communicating with the lender when there is a delay or problem.

The answer to this question really depends on the reason that your firm has been removed off the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows:

1. lack of transactions
2. the lawyer is a sole practitioner
3. as part of the HSBC panel reduction.

In these three circumstances it is unlikely that you would expected to take any action. Disclosure and other compliance considerations are more likely to be relevant if the reason for removal is due to breaches of lender requirements or allegations of fraud or negligence. Whether the reasoning should trigger a disclosable 'material' breach will depend on the firm and the circumstances around possible failures to comply with the SRA Authorisation Rules, and the SRA will judge each case on its own merits. Factors such as the detriment or risk of detriment to clients, the scale of the issue and overall impact on the firm will need to be considered in deciding whether a failure is 'material'. As the COLP you will need systems to identify patterns of breaches. Even if you don't consider there to be regulatory implications the firms COFA should give some thought to whether she/he needs to take any action as result of being removed from the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel.

In this situation please explain on the form what action you have taken to find out the reasons behind cancellation of your Coutts & Co panel membership. In particular please provide details if you have received communications from the lender. E.G. before cessation of your panel membership did you receive any letters or calls from the lender putting you on notice?

You should get in touch with Coutts & Co to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook has an explicit section for lenders to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents. Coutts & Co in their Part 2’s state: You will need to disclose the firm’s Coutts & Co solicitors panel reference.