RBS - Virgin One Conveyancing Panel Information

As is the case with the Law Society the CLC has begun discussions with lenders 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 recent years.

There are many reports available, five of which are as follows:

• Analysis as to the nature of clients (e.g.existing/new/seen in person)
• Number of conveyancing cases by lender
• Evidence of undertaking logs
• Buy to Let transactions
• Current and historic missed priority dates

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.

For most lenders participation on the lender's panel of conveyancers is at the absolute discretion of the the lender. Many lenders reserve the right to accept or reject any application without giving any reason. You should check your original application to join the RBS - Virgin One conveyancing panel to see if you are entitled to a reason.

In the circumstances please clarify on the form what steps you have taken to find out 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 advising you as to their reasons?

You should communicate with RBS - Virgin One to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook contains an explicit section for lenders to set out who to contact to obtain standard documents. RBS - Virgin One in their Part 2’s state: Don’t forget to disclose the firm’s RBS - Virgin One conveyancing panel reference.