Conveyancing fraud on the rise as new transparency rules kick in

It’s been revealed that 37 regulated conveyancing firms have repelled attempted frauds in the past year.

But 11 conveyancing firms have actually been victims of fraud - of those, eight had experienced it once, two firms twice and the other an amazing three times. 

Despite that, the regulating body the Council for Licensed Conveyancers says the sector is in good shape with almost all of its 212 members improving their work to identify or repel fraud.

Sheila Kumar, CLC chief executive, says: “It is reassuring for clients and for us as a regulator to know that licensed conveyancers are taking their responsibilities to combat fraud seriously. It continues to be a priority for the CLC to support its regulated community in protecting themselves and their clients from criminals and recognising the risks they face on a daily basis. We will continue to provide tailored guidance and to signpost to the regulated community authoritative resources to strengthen their defences.”

Meanwhile this Thursday sees the start of a new era of transparency amongst some conveyancers who have agreed to put some price and service information on their websites and in other media.

The CLC has published templates and examples of displaying cost information for both conveyancing and probate work.

Firms are able to decide the best way to display cost information, such as examples of fixed fees based on specific values or a range of values of properties, hourly rates of members of staff with indicative timescales for transactions, or through instant estimate generators.

However, the CLC cautions that any estimate generator should produce an instant result directly to the consumer. “A consumer shouldn’t have to provide contact details to receive a call-back or email for an estimate” the guidance says.