A lender’s launch of a new conveyancing panel, to be run by Countrywide, has provoked a furious backlash from high street solicitors who say that consumers are being bludgeoned into using the new service – but will ultimately lose out through conveyancing delays causing both them and estate agents headaches.
According to the Bold Group, a national network of over 130 high street law firms across the UK, the launch by HSBC has resulted in an unprecedented number of calls and emails from its members, all seeking advice as well as an avenue to vent their frustration.
They are furious that the new panel is restricted to just 43 members, unfairly restricting work for other conveyancing firms and leading, they claim, to likely delays for consumers.
They are also angry that the bank will offer customers incentives to use a firm from its panel. Whilst consumers can still instruct their own solicitors, they will nevertheless have to pay a separate fee for HSBC’s lawyer as well.
The irate high street legal conveyancers say that for those firms that are not one of the 43, this could impact significantly on their future workload
Since the announcement was made by HSBC last week, the Bold Group says it has been contacted by a ‘vast’ number of high street solicitor firms, including both members and non-members.
It says many are expressing frustration, disappointment and confusion – and for those firms which have had their client accounts with HSBC for many years, extreme anger.
A number of firms are also considering what action they can take against HSBC.
Rob Hailstone, founder of the Bold Group, said: “It’s understandable that many law firms feel both threatened and angry about HSBC’s decision.
“Since the Bold Group launched in 2010, we have never seen a single announcement stir up so much furore among our members. I strongly believe that within a relatively short period of time, HSBC and its mortgage customers will regret this badly thought through and poorly implemented development, and I would urge HSBC to reconsider its position now.
“HSBC’s recent decision will not only cause concern among conveyancing law firms but it will result in increased costs and delays for consumers as well as alarming the thousands of estate agents operating in the UK, who will not welcome unnecessary delays and needless red tape and bureaucracy.
“Instead, I would urge HSBC to look for an alternative solution. By inviting a selection of experienced and respected conveyancing firms to discuss and explore the issues HSBC is obviously seeking to resolve through its new panel, I am confident that an improved solution could be reached.”
The Bold Group will be collating feedback and concerns from member organisations, which it plans to submit to HSBC over the coming weeks.
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Comments
Rob Hailstone is doing a great job for his solicitor members.
However, the issue goes wider than simply worrying about solicitors losing work.
Consumers are being restricted in their choice of solicitor. This is in direct conflict with the aim of the Legal Services Act. Read our blog to see what I mean.
www.highstreetlawyer.com/about
This is good for no one other than CW. Sellers and buyers both will be impacted, delays when buyers go via HSBC then have to change solicitors or pay more for another to do the legal for HSBC just works for no one.
Hardly open transparent and giving choice to the consumer is it?
Who next?
And yet independent surveyors carry on taking these rubbish jobs and keep moaning. Why bother there is plenty of private work out there for the bravehearted. It was at the end of the day the non co-operation of independent surveyors that defeated the Home Condition Report; if surveyors ditched HSBC in numbers it would be left to the corporates to do the mediocre job HSBC deserve and proper surveyors can get on with the quality jobs.
BTW
I have a surveyor friend who explained the whole panel deal to me.
Bank or BSoc charges purchaser £600 for survey and take their cut.
Panel charge £200 to "manage" it - i.e. send an email or two (seriously not kidding).
Surveyor lucky to see £250 inc VAT, less that half of the total, and takes all of the risk, etcetera associated with it.
Oh, of course he also has to pay an annual registration fee to be on the panel too and comply with their service level agreement too.
I feel very sorry for both proper solicitors (not conveyancers) and surveyors at the moment
'Tis the way of the world ladies & gents.
Commissions forced ever downwards on sales mean that agents looking at their bottom lines will be attracted to additional fees offered for referrals.
These will become normal and expected until the current investigation by the OFT into referral fees by solicitors to insurers concludes.
This is because every member of the general public is looking for a good deal, unfortunately none of them actually knows what that means when talking about estate agents.
They know the cost but not the value.
Therefore cheap (crap) wins every time.
in the know, I can assure you my client does, and never has earned anywhere near £200k (but I am certain he would like to), nor does he drive a Porsche. Last time I saw him it was in a Mondeo.
I have no first hand information on his underwear situation but would guess that he has hand made silk boxers, flown in from Italy and they are in perfect order.
I suggest you change your moniker to, i know nothing!
I didn’t know H.S.B.C stood for Harry’s Shyster Band of Conveyancers
Big Brother (not the stupid T.V. prog but the George Orwell one) is watching you.
What happens when both buyer and seller are forced to use this bunch of cretins? Competition is out the window and all agents will sigh 'my god not them, that will delay things'.
I try to torture them by asking difficult to answer questions and it puts them in a complete muddle. I then ask them their qualifications and guess what? They have little or none. No surprise there.
Very constructive first post.
Rob Hailstone is right from a conveyancers point of view. Estate Agents across the Country need to ask themselves:
1. do they want to allow customers to line the pockets of their main competitor Countrywide or do they want to tell customers to think carefully about using HSBCs panel?
2. the 'net fee' that the panel members receive after paying any referral fee for being on the panel from the already low price conveyancing will of course mean that it will not be profitibale to provide an expert conveyancer such as a Solicitor or Legal Executive. But most decent conveyancing firms will give an actual Solicitor or Legal Executive for the very similar price
As for conveyancers, if you have an HSBC Clien account and are not on the panel, you have to ask yourself, do you accept this smack in the face or do you move your banking like so many Firms have started to?
Sounds like Rob Hailstone is messing his pants and worried that he will have to sell his Porsche and trade down to a mini as his £200k annual pay us about to drop to £10k.
I know ASDA offer you 10% of the difference these days! He might need to start using this.