An e-petition has been lodged calling for the Government to put pressure on HSBC to reverse its decision to cut its conveyancing panel to just over 40 firms.
The e-petition has been drawn up by conveyancing expert Rob Hailstone, founder of the Bold Group, who said: “The reason for doing this is that in nearly 40 years of being involved in the business of home buying and selling, I can’t recall an issue that has struck such a raw nerve with so many property professionals and that will so adversely affect the home buying and selling public.
“The problem with issues of this type is that large institutions are walking all over smaller individuals or businesses.
“In order to tackle them, we need unity and action. So many individuals sit back and moan and hope that others will fight the battle for them or simply put their heads firmly in the sand. The e-petition is an easy way for everyone to get involved.”
The petition reads:
“HSBC should substantially increase the number of law firms on its new panel.
“In January 2012, HSBC reduced the number of law firms that could act for it and the buyer of a property (with an HSBC mortgage) from thousands to just over 40.
“Many home buying consumers will be penalised financially for insisting that they are allowed to use their preferred lawyer or law firm if they are not one of the few on the new HSBC panel. The disabled, those living in rural areas or even those wishing to use their family solicitor will have little or no choice. Conveyancing transactions will be made more complicated, more stressful and more costly, and the chance of sales and purchases aborting unnecessarily will increase.
“This new policy will not just adversely affect a property buyer with an HSBC mortgage but everyone in that particular chain of transactions, including estate agents and financial service providers.
“The Government should put pressure on HSBC to reverse its decision.”
https://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/29948
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Comments
You can protest all you like, but the CML and FSA are right behind this to cut fraud, no one seems to see the conflict with the panel being managed by Countrywide and the monopoly of referral fees heading exclusively in their direction.
Both the FSA and CML spout about making it better for the consumer then say it is the consumer who will have no choice to pay extra and that gets worse when their plans on Separate Representation on every mortgage comes in, HSBC is just the beginning!
Is this the end of the high street solicitors and conveyancers?
Even if this e-petition gains enough support, it is unlikely that legislation will be passed to force a large organisation to widen their solicitor panel. We live in a free market society where HSBC can nominate whoever they wish. A perhaps more worthy e-petition concerns fraudulent Council Tenant Right to buy applications - where taxpayers money has been effectively stolen, and Council housing stock has diminished.
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/26879
If the 40 are anything like the machines that have monkeys doing the work and the file then gets 'audited' by someone who knows what they are doing (you all know the sort of oganisations I mean) The whole thing will be a complete shambles.