RBS - Virgin One Conveyancing Panel Information

The Law Society of Scotland has advised that solicitors should check their lender panel status prior to accepting client instructions to act. The advice is lender-agnostic as it does not relate specifically to solicitors on the RBS - Virgin One conveyancing panel. The suggestion 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

As is the case with the Law Society the Council of Licensed Conveyancers has entered dialogue with banks and their representative bodies to see whether and how the risks that lenders wish to mitigate could be addressed through the regulatory framework rather than via ad hoc arrangements that can differ from lender to lender. It is likely that that the CLC have been in touch with lenders such as RBS - Virgin One in the recent past.

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

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 RBS - Virgin One immediately. Second, 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 RBS - Virgin One’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let RBS - Virgin One know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for RBS - Virgin One to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. RBS - Virgin One conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. RBS - Virgin One are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. (III) RBS - Virgin One 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. RBS - Virgin One recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that RBS - Virgin One 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 RBS - Virgin One 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 RBS - Virgin One conveyancing panel

In this situation please explain on the application what action you have taken to discover the reasons behind cancellation of your RBS - Virgin One panel membership. In particular please provide details if you have received communications from the lender. E.G. before revocation of your panel membership did you receive any letters or calls from the lender informing you as to why they reached this decision?

You need to get in touch with RBS - Virgin One to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook includes an individual inquiry for banks to set out who to contact to obtain standard documents. RBS - Virgin One in their Part 2’s state: Don’t forget to quote the firm’s RBS - Virgin One solicitors panel reference.