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Scottish Widows Conveyancing Panel: Recently Asked Questions
Are Scottish Widows Conveyancing panel solicitors under an obligation to disclose incentives?
Scottish Widows’s answer to this question can be found at section 6.4.4 of their CML Part 2 requirements
Is it the case that the Law Society has recommended that firms check their status on the
Scottish Widows conveyancing panel?
The Scottish Law Society has advised that solicitors should check their panel status with lenders before accepting client instructions to act. The advice is lender-agnostic as it does not relate specifically to solicitors on the
Scottish Widows 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
Why are Estate Agents using search tools to check if lawyers are on a lenders conveyancing panel?
The fact of the matter is that estate agents will be feeling the pain if their clients start out on the buying process having appointed a solicitor who is not on the panel with the purchaser’s chosen lender. Many
conveyancing firms are only discovering when they begin working on a
case that they are no longer able to work with that lender. Given
the inevitable resultant delays in the transaction the chances of an
abortive deal increases dramatically. in the circumstances there is
understandable anguish on the part of the estate agent as a result of
the lost time should the client have to change solicitors .
My PI renewal application this year contained the following question: ‘Has your Firm been asked by a lender to agree to more onerous terms and conditions than provided for in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook?’ My firm is on the majority of lender panels including the
Scottish Widows conveyancing panel. We have Terms and Conditions of appointment which we have to follow. Am I supposed to mention these Terms ?
The concern here is if you are expect to enter into ‘more onerous’ conditions that than the Handbook obligations.
You have to try and take an objective view as to whether the Terms relating to the
Scottish Widows conveyancing appointment (or other terms for other lenders) are ‘more onerous’ than the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Conditions. Depending on the Terms you may need to provide details on your renewal form. If you are in any doubt please call your broker to discuss before moving forward on this question.
My post-completion clerk has resigned on short notice.
I urgently need to prioritise making sure that charges are registered. That said, how quickly do I need to send deeds to
Scottish Widows once the charge is registered before my firm runs the risk of being suspended off the conveyancing panel for Scottish Widows?
Scottish Widows will likely expect the deeds to be sent to them within 10 days of you receiving the TID (unless their specific P2 requirements specifically state that they you are not to send them anything). Most COTs refer to complying with the Certificate of Title referred to in IB (3.7) of the SRA Code of Conduct 2011, published by the Law Society which states that you ‘will despatch to you such deeds and documents relating to the Property as you require with a list of them in the form prescribed by you within ten working days of receipt by us of the title information document from the Land Registry’ As to whether the lender will suspend your panel status this very much varies according to the lender’s own internal policies The more cases you have the more risk you face. Some lenders may take action if there records show that the deeds are outstanding for more than 3 matters. The fact is that if you keep within the time frame then you will have more chance of remaining on the
Scottish Widows conveyancing panel.
We had our Scottish Widows panel membership revoked but we have not yet been given a reason as to why.
I am completing a CQS application form what information should I report?
In this situation please explain on the form what steps you have taken to find out the reasons behind cancellation of your
Scottish Widows panel membership.
In particular please provide details if you have received communications from the lender. E.G. before termination of your panel membership did you receive any letters or calls from the lender informing you as to why they reached this decision?
My firm is listed on the
Scottish Widows
conveyancing panel and scheduled to complete a remortgage within the next few weeks. My file does not contain a Mortgage Deed for the client to execute.
Who do I contact at Scottish Widows to request substitute deeds?
You should communicate with Scottish Widows
to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook includes a specific inquiry for banks to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents.
Scottish Widows in their Part 2’s state:
You will need to quote your Scottish Widows conveyancing panel number.
Find a Lawyer on the Scottish Widows Conveyancing Panel
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Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of Scottish Widows
This information relates to purchase only and not remortgages.
| Year | Days* |
|---|---|
| 2026 | [no data] |
| 2025 | [no data] |
| 2024 | [no data] |
| 2023 | [no data] |
| 2022 | [no data] |
| 2021 | [no data] |
* Data aggregated from sources including COMPLETIONmonitor
Other related topics:
- CQS policy templates and procedures for accredited Scottish Widows Firms
- Draft Report on Title precedent for Scottish Widows borrowers
- Draft Anti Money Laundering PolicyTemplate for Scottish Widows panel firms to consider
- Dealing with Lender Policy Template panel for CQS accredited firms on the Scottish Widows lender panel
- Buy-to-Let help for Scottish Widows
- Consent-to-Let help for Scottish Widows
- Contractor Mortgages with Scottish Widows
