Searches now taking four times longer claim

Searches are now taking longer than ever as local authorities struggle with the new April 6 HIP regime, which requires them to give full access to personal search firms.

It is unclear whether delays will be such that some searches will not be available, as the law now requires, 28 days from the start of marketing. Personal search firms are no longer allowed to supply insurance-backed searches with missing information, but must produce the actual information as supplied by the local authority.
 
According to search company MDA SearchFlow, problems with pricing, billing and access to search information are widespread.

In some regions, it is now taking up to four times longer than previously to book search requests, with the need to contact four or five separate departments – such as planning, highways, building control and environmental health – in order to get the extra information required by the new HIP legislation.

“Providing compliant searches post April 6 is becoming very problematic for search companies,” said Andrew Lloyd, managing director of MDA SearchFlow. “This has meant that backlogs are now building, which will affect turnaround times on searches.”

The company is continuing to monitor the situation, with a daily management panel meeting every morning to evaluate how the situation is developing across the country.

Lloyd said: “Given the current situation and the need to obtain fully compliant information to satisfy the new April 6 regulations, it is inevitable that search results will take longer to complete in the coming weeks, until stability and clarity is restored at many local authority operations.

“Having said that, we would rather delay putting a search into the HIP than compromise the quality of that search.

“All other search companies will be facing these same issues, unless they are cutting corners in obtaining all the information that is available to produce a complete personal search.”

Searches are not required to be included in a HIP until 28 days after ordering, so it will not be clear until early May whether the deadline is being breached, and if so, what the consequences will be.