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Pepper Money Conveyancing Panel: Recently Asked Questions
Is it conceivable that
Pepper Money
will appoint a different firm on the
Pepper Money
conveyancing panel for a further advance during the lifetime of a mortgage?
Section 16.2.1 of Part 1 of the Handbook relevant to a solicitor on the
Pepper Money
conveyancing panel reads ‘Our mortgage secures further advances. Consequently, when a further advance is required for alterations or improvements to the property we will not normally instruct a member of our conveyancing panel but if you are instructed the appropriate provisions of this Handbook will apply’.
What sort of information are Lenders such as
Pepper Money are asking for when it comes to applying to be on their approved conveyancing panel?
Although not necessarily published, lenders have varying criteria .
We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the
Pepper Money conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):
PII Cover details, including, if relevant, whether the firm is or has been in the assigned risks pool and structure of cover – basic
Full career history for each licensed conveyancer including registration date with Council of Licensed Conveyancers
Automated alerting to inform lenders when there is a fundamental change to the firm (e.g. change of management)
Full disciplinary history for each conveyancing solicitor
Areas of Law covered by the firm
List of all those who can sign off the Certificate Of Title
List of all those staff who work within the conveyancing team
Whether the firm has ever knowingly accepted instructions on transactions involving Sale and Rent Back, Back to Back, Exchange and Delayed Completion and Lease Option, Below Market Value.
Full disciplinary history for each licensed conveyancer
Full career history for each solicitor including admission date to the relevant Law Society
A recent SRA survey reveals that 76% of
solicitors have been removed from a lender conveyancing panel. Pepper Money and other lenders have restricted their panel over
the years. Why?
In operating open conveyancing panels, lenders such as Pepper Money
face a number of fraud and negligence risks. While
there is no authoritative source of data on lender exposure to
solicitor–led mortgage fraud, anecdotal evidence from lenders
indicates exposure on individual cases are often in the millions of
pounds. The National Fraud Authority estimates that £1bn per year is
lost in mortgage -related frauds in total, which is seen as a
conservative estimate.
These risks are exacerbated by the lack of a comprehensive set of data on all conveyancing firms (which, for the avoidance of doubt, would include solicitors and conveyancers across the UK) which is in a readily accessible format. Currently, lenders vet the suitability of their panel firms against a variety of disparate, incomplete and potentially inaccurate sets of information. One top 5 lender pointed out to us that it is almost impossible to track individual fraudsters who move from firm to firm, especially where they are no longer registered or no longer hold a valid practicing certificate.
Pepper Money and other lenders are in varying stages of reviewing their approach to vetting firms on their conveyancing panels, to ensure their ongoing exposure to unsuitable firms is reduced. There is also regulatory impetus on lenders to ensure that they have satisfactory oversight of their third party panels, including a due-diligence process.
The firm that I work for is on the
Pepper Money conveyancing panel. I am dealing with
Pepper Money mortgage on a purchase. My borrower client is asking not to disclose an issue to
Pepper Money. What do I do in this conflict situation?
When a solicitor is acting for both
Pepper Money and borrower there is potential for conflicts
to arise. You owe duties to both clients. All information received by
you from your client is confidential and cannot be disclosed without
the client’s consent. In the situation you find yourself in if the
purchaser will not consent to the information being passed on to the
lender the solicitor must cease to act for the Pepper Money
and it may well be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as
well. You can not tell the Pepper Money the reason for
termination of the retainer over and above the fact that a conflict
has arisen. The fact that you can no longer act should alert even the
most somnambulistic of lenders that something is wrong with the
borrower and/or purchase. The fact that you have disinstructed
yourself should not affect your Pepper Money conveyancing
panel status.
My lawyers pass me the odd LENDERmonitor email but I don't see that many important changes. For example, Fortunately my practice on the
Pepper Money conveyancing panel and receive a notification only advising of a change of address. Does that matter?
Yes it does matter because sending a communication or deeds to the wrong address can cause delays that might not only affect your borrower client but also impact your chances of staying on the
Pepper Money solicitor panel. Is possible next month that Pepper Money change their requirements as to where their panel firm send the deeds.
Do you change the details in your case management system? Is this recorded anywhere? Is this communicated to the staff? By virtue of your COT Pepper Money you are giving assurances that you will send the deeds within 10 days of receiving the TID. Leaving to one side whether you are technically breaching an undertaking in sending it to the wrong address, you run the risk of
Pepper Money suspending you off the panel because they are not receiving the deeds in accordance with the COT. It will not be a valid excuse to say that you sent it to their old address.
Prime Professional’s PI Insurance renewal form questions if my practice had been excluded from any bank panels in the last year.
I just discovered that the practice is no longer on the
Pepper Money solicitor panel? Will that effect my PII cover?
The best placed professionals to answer this question are your insurance brokers.
The chances are that on the basis that you have not been removed for
fraud or negligence reasons that there will be little or no
impact. The main reason why a firm would be removed off of a lender
panel is due to low volume of conveyancing cases although there may be
a number of criteria for Pepper Money solicitor panel
membership. Please remember that it is always important that you
complete your insurance forms accurately.
My firm is listed on the
Pepper Money
conveyancing panel and scheduled to complete a remortgage within the next few weeks. My papers do not include a Mortgage Deed for the client to execute.
Who do I contact at Pepper Money to obtain duplicate documents?
You should get in touch with Pepper Money
to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook includes an individual section for banks to set out who to contact to obtain standard documents.
Pepper Money in their Part 2’s state:
Please remember to disclose your Pepper Money conveyancing panel number.
Find a Lawyer on the Pepper Money Conveyancing Panel
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Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of Pepper Money
This information relates to purchase only and not remortgages.
| Year | Days* |
|---|---|
| 2025 | [no data] |
| 2024 | [no data] |
| 2023 | [no data] |
| 2022 | [no data] |
| 2021 | [no data] |
| 2020 | [no data] |
* Data aggregated from sources including COMPLETIONmonitor
Other related topics:
- CQS policy templates and procedures for accredited Pepper Money Firms
- Draft Report on Title precedent for Pepper Money borrowers
- Draft Anti Money Laundering PolicyTemplate for Pepper Money panel firms to consider
- Dealing with Lender Policy Template panel for CQS accredited firms on the Pepper Money lender panel
- Buy-to-Let help for Pepper Money
- Consent-to-Let help for Pepper Money
- Contractor Mortgages with Pepper Money
