Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One Conveyancing Panel Information

We are not aware of any intention on the part of the CML to develop such a search facility.

The CML Part II requirements of Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One are silent on this. Most lenders address the question of file retention via their Terms of panel appointment where they generally provide that for evidential purposes, the firm must keep the file for at least of 6 years from the date of the mortgage. Data imagining is normally suitable compliance with this requirement. Many lenders point out in that it is the practice of some fraudsters to demand the conveyancing file on completion in order to destroy evidence that may later be used against them. It is therefore important to retain these documents to protect Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One’s interest. To be absolutely sure of Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One requirements in this regard please check the Terms and Conditions of Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One’s conveyancing panel appointment.

We can't comment specifically on Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One. Many major lenders are now introducing ‘file auditing’ as standard practice in relation to completed matters. This raises questions of confidentiality in relation to the borrower and the purpose to which the results of such audits will be put. The starting point is to remember that the file does not belong to your firm, it belongs to the ‘client’. But, of course, we will normally have two clients – the buyer and the lender - and you will owe a duty of confidentiality to each. So basically, you have to separate the file and just send the lender the parts solely relating to themselves. But, of course, as this will basically be correspondence with the lender, mortgage instructions etc.

Check with your COLP but a firm should not send the complete conveyancing file without the buyer client’s express consent – and if she is in arrears with the lender she is hardly likely to agree. However, if the lender can establish a prima facie case of fraud, then you may be under an obligation to disclose the whole file.

The emerging convention is that lenders are including an authority to disclose in loan application forms to counter this problem. Mortgage Express v Sawali, [2010] EWHC 3054 (Ch) indicates that such provisions are valid. Please click here for more information about that case.

When a solicitor is acting for both Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One 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 Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One and it may well be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as well. You can not tell the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One 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 Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel status.

CQS membership is 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 conveyancing solicitors. A number of Lenders now use the scheme as the starting point for Panel approval as is the case with HSBC.

You would be advised to contact Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook includes an individual question for banks to cite who to contact to obtain standard documents. Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One in their Part 2’s state: Always remember to quote the firm’s Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel reference.