Barclays plc Conveyancing Panel Information

It is not apparent if there is a question here. We acknowledge that there are an increasing amount of lawyers in Scotland who point to the concerning development in 2013 where in a solicitor disciplinary case in Scotland where the Law Society of Scotland has prosecuted a conveyancing solicitor for repeated failure to comply with the CML lenders’ handbook. While the solicitor’s failures cannot and should not be forgiven, the clear message from the LSS is that its auditors will examine the minutiae of a solicitor’s purchase file for compliance with the CML lenders’ handbook. They will report and potentially act on any non-compliance they discover, insignificant or otherwise, irrespective of whether there has been any fraudulent or otherwise criminal activity on the part of the solicitor, and irrespective of the presence or absence of a complaint by the lender.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders are not a regulator and therefore do not investigate complaints against lenders. You can contact Lexsure to see if we can assist. Please see our contact details below.

Should your firm be removed from the Barclays plc conveyancing panel and you are unaware of or disagree with the reasons for your removal you should contact Barclays plc directly. If there is an appeals process detailed on your letter, you should follow the process. In appealing a decision by Barclays plc, it may be useful to provide the following information:

• Comprehensive disclosure of your transaction history
• Your COMPLETIONmonitor reports, assuming you use the Lexsure software
• Your recent claims history
• Full details of all staff in your practice and their position.
• Note whether a solicitor has been admitted to the role on completion of the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test.
• Supply copy practising certificates, the firm's current professional indemnity policy and the firm’s accountant's certificate, setting out what percentage of the firm's gross fee income is generated from residential conveyancing
• On appeal some solicitors have been able to regain membership to panels notwithstanding the policy by the respective lenders to refuse panel membership to firms with certain profiles or characteristics. Such an achievement is primarily due to the firms’ ability to persuade the lender to make an exception if there is sufficient evidence to reassure them that the firm has a healthy attitude towards risk mitigation.

We have come across many solicitors who feel they have been removed from lenders’ panels without an explanation or a good reason. Given that lenders have distanced themselves from creating a standardised appeals process for brokers, it is highly unlikely that an appeals process will be introduced for lawyers. Commenting on the call by brokers to have a standardised process, the CML said’ “While we understand that some lenders do have an appeals process, it would not be appropriate for a trade body such as the CML to seek to be prescriptive about such a process.” Some lenders do, however, set out an appeals policy. The Law Society does have information on its site that may be of assistance. If you would like to talk to one of our compliance experts about our Lender Panel Protection Service, please click here .

When a solicitor is acting for both Barclays plc and the borrower, there is potential for conflicts to arise. You owe duties to both clients. All information you receive 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 Barclays plc. It may be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as well. You can not tell Barclays plc 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 Barclays plc conveyancing panel status.