I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Frampton on Severn and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the purchasers are switching solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Frampton on Severn ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 25 years.

Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

My wife and I are soon to complete buying a property in Frampton on Severn but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have was able negotiate compensation from the seller in the sum of £3k in the form of a reduction in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process however Yorkshire BS will not permit this. Why were they informed?

Your conveyancer that is on the Yorkshire BS approved list is duty bound to inform Yorkshire BS of any changes to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your conveyancing practitioner to notify the price change to Yorkshire BS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Yorkshire BS and you would have to appoint a new property lawyer for your conveyancing in Frampton on Severn.

Are the Frampton on Severn conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by Bank of Ireland?

Frampton on Severn conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Bank of Ireland directly.

We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Frampton on Severn for our home move. Our financial adviser has since notified us that our bank Birmingham Midshires won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?

A lender may direct that an approved solicitor act for it. You would be expected to meet the cost of this. Do use our tool to select a solicitor to carry conveyancing in Frampton on Severn on the Birmingham Midshires approved list of solicitors.

My husband and I are four weeks into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to solicitors by the high street agent to perform conveyancing in Frampton on Severn. I am am starting to be frustrated with the quality of service. Could you you assist me in finding new conveyancers?

A solicitor would need to be very poor in order to consider changing them. Has the loan offer been sent? In the event that it has you will need to advise them of the replacement solicitor and ensure the mortgage documents are issued to the new lawyers. Your new conveyancer needs to be on the lenders panel to avoid added expenses and complications. That should be your starting point. The search tool can assist you in finding a bank approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Frampton on Severn