With the recession biting everywhere and reaching its lowest troughs, it would seem that no profession is safe from cutbacks; 3,600 conveyancing solicitors have been unceremoniously dropped from their positions as advisors to two leading high street banks.
Britannia and the Co-Operative have followed rival building society Abbey in their decision to let their panel of conveyancing solicitors go from their positions in a reaction to the recent recession.
The Law Society has requested that the banks reverse this decision, however the banks claim that their investors had made it clear that if they didn’t make this move then they may withdraw mortgage fraud cover.
It will affect not only the lives of the conveyancing solicitors, who hail from all areas of the country, including Coventry, but will also have negative implementations for the customers of the building societies, as it means that they will have to go to another law firm to get their consultations on the conveyancing process.
A spokesperson for the banks claimed that they simply could not afford to choose the panel’s jobs over the support for mortgage fraud and they have had to consider the best interests of their investors and their customers.
They were not overjoyed to watch the panel go, as they have put in some stirling work over the years, however it was a decision made for the greater good; mortgage fraud can be devastating for the victims of such con artists, with both the public and the banks losing large amounts of money.
Due to the fact that the banks offer the best cover at the price, they could not afford to go elsewhere, although this would have created an option to keep the solicitors on.
It is doubtless that the dismissed solicitors will find some other work at other companies, yet for those that do not have an immediate fallback plan, the coming months will be tight; it is hoped that Abbey will at least reverse their decision and take back the 7,000 conveyancing solicitors that they dismissed earlier in the year.
Don’t hesitate to contact a Coventry conveyancing solicitor for a professional consultation if you have a query or question about any element of the conveyancing process, or are in the market to buy or sell a property and would like some expert legal advice.
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