'Deeply unfair' charge on conveyancers dropped after pressure on UK Finance

A planned charge on conveyancers has been dropped after pressure from all three UK Law Societies.

UK Finance came under fire from the Law Society of Scotland and fellow bodies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland over plans to charge conveyancers an annual fee to access lender instructions.

Currently, conveyancers can access the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook on the trade body's website free of charge and without registering.

The handbook contains standard instructions which must be followed.

UK Finance had previously told the sector that the new Mortgage Lenders' Handbook IT platform will launch next month and, following a three-month free trial period, conveyancers would be charged £50 plus VAT annually.

The Society of Licensed Conveyancers condemned the move, branding it absurd.

Now UK Finance has rolled back. A spokesperson said: "Following further engagement with our members and users of the Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook, we have decided to retain the current approach of providing free access for conveyancers for the foreseeable future. We are continuing the work to launch the new and improved handbook in early March as planned."
 
Fiona Alexander, Convener of the Law Society of Scotland Property Law Committee, welcomed the decision. She said: “We are very pleased that UK Finance has reversed its position, stating it will drop the charge for "the foreseeable future".
 
“There had been very little to no engagement on this proposal and the potential long-term consequences. It’s why, together with Law Society of England and Wales and Law Society of Northern Ireland, we pressed UK Finance not to go ahead with this deeply unfair charge which would have had a detrimental impact on consumers and the housing market.
 
“We will continue to press UK Finance on it plans regarding the new handbook, including how it intends to use the data obtained from the platform, and will keep Law Society members updated.”