Furness Building Society 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.

There are three main advantages to not being on the approved list of Furness Building Society solicitors.

1. By not being on the Furness Building Society conveyancing panel you remove any possibility of a conflict of interest arising, thus ensuring that your borrower client and Furness Building Society receive independent advice.
2. You dramatically reduce the number of negligence claims arising from breach of the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Handbook or BSA Mortgage Instructions.
3. There is is far less chance of mortgage fraud occurring where two sets of lawyers are reviewing the papers

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.

When a solicitor is acting for both Furness Building Society 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 Furness Building Society. It may be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as well. You can not tell Furness Building Society 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 Furness Building Society conveyancing panel status.

Yes the Policy search does track changes to the Furness Building Society UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook P2 for Scotland. The search is free and very simple to use. Please click here to order a search.