Pepper Money (UK) Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (or the BSA) do not involve themselves in training however they do provided numerous useful conveyancing related conferences which are attended by firms on the Pepper Money (UK) conveyancing panel. Lexsure intend to run specific lender focused seminars in the coming months including a webinar on Pepper Money (UK)’s Part 2 obligations. Law firms on the Pepper Money (UK) conveyancing panel will be invited. Further details will be made available as part of the LENDERmonitor Alerts.

In operating open conveyancing panels, lenders such as Pepper Money (UK) 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 (UK) 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.

There are various requirements are to followed if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. First, You must take reasonable steps to verify that there are no discrepancies between the description of the property as valued and the title and other documents which a reasonably competent conveyancer should obtain, and, if there are, you must tell Pepper Money (UK) immediately. (II) You should take reasonable steps to verify that the assumptions stated by the valuer about the title (for example, its tenure, easements, boundaries and restrictions on its use) in the valuation and as stated in Pepper Money (UK)’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Pepper Money (UK) know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Pepper Money (UK) to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Pepper Money (UK) conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Pepper Money (UK) are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. Thirdly, Pepper Money (UK) recommend that you should advise the borrower that there may be defects in the property which are not revealed by the inspection carried out by their valuer and there may be omissions or inaccuracies in the report which do not matter to them as a lender but which would matter to the borrower. Pepper Money (UK) recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Pepper Money (UK) have obtained, you should also advise the borrower that the borrower should not rely on the report in deciding whether to proceed with the purchase and that he obtains his own more detailed report on the condition and value of the property, based on a fuller inspection such as a homebuyers survey or comprehensive survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Pepper Money (UK) or the borrower. You still need to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Requirement relating to valuation reports even if you don't receive one directly. Failure to comply not only runs the risk of facing a claim by the lender but also being removed from the Pepper Money (UK) conveyancing panel

CQS accreditation gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of firms. A number of mortgage companies now use CQS as the starting point for Panel acceptance as is the case with Astra Mortgages.

You need to contact Pepper Money (UK) to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook contains an explicit question for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. It is likely that you will need to quote the firm’s Pepper Money (UK) conveyancing panel reference.