Lawyer Checker
WHY CHOOSE LAWYER CHECKER?
Vendor conveyancer fraud is an ever increasing concern with more instances coming to light of criminals stealing identities of real firms or setting up their own bogus firm in order to dupe you into sending money to them. So, in this instance – how can you be sure the solicitor you are dealing with is legit?
Lawyer Checker’s Account and Entity Screen Checker takes away the uncertainty and provides you with enhanced risk management in transmission of funds by checking the account details of a solicitor you are sending funds to against their unique database, whilst being assured you are adhering to SRA Principle 10 as well as 4 and 5 and protecting your firm.
Account and Entity Screen Checker is suitable for use in Residential Conveyancing and Commercial Conveyancing transactions (in the jurisdiction of England and Wales).
Recommended to be completed in the outset when replies to requisition on title have been received, Lawyer Checker also provide a free refresh service to ensure there has been no changes on the way before completion of the transaction.
HOW DOES ACCOUNT AND ENTITY SCREEN WORK?
Lawyer Checker requires the seller’s solicitors’ company name and post code, sort code, account number and SRA/CLC number in order to undertake a search. This allows a check to be done against the firm and their account in question which will then return whether the account searched against has a track record of Frequent, Infrequent or Unknown usage within conveyancing.
WHAT DO THE RESULTS MEAN?
A Frequent result means that Lawyer Checker recognises the accounts details searched against and they have a good track record within their database. This means numerous conveyancers have searched for the same details and it has been known for a long period of time.
An Infrequent result means that Lawyer Checker recognises the account details provided but the account has been used infrequently by other conveyancers, is relatively new, or a small number of searches have been carried out against it.
An Unknown result means that Lawyer Checker has no record of the account details in its database.
If there is a potential risk (Infrequent or Unknown result), our team will conduct real-time checks on over ten databases and send back a full report on the entity associated with the account within four working hours (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).
When you conduct a check, an immediate response will be sent to you containing:
- The database result (Frequent, Infrequent or Unknown)
- When the Lawyer Checker database last saw the details being used and any recognised risks
- Further checks for you to carry out, if there is a potential risk (Infrequent or Unknown result).
WHAT TO DO WITH THE SEARCH RESULTS
Approximately 85% of results have a Frequent outcome. Therefore, if a result is Infrequent or Unknown, it may present a potential risk and we suggest that you need to satisfy yourself that you are comfortable with sending money to the account in question.
- Consider the information Lawyer Checker have provided to you in conjunction with other information you have on file. There may be a legitimate reason why the account has presented a potential risk such as incorrect details or it may require further investigation.
- If you feel that the information you have still presents a risk, we suggest that you contact the COLP/COFA at that firm and ask them to confirm their bank details.
- If you are still not comfortable sending money to the other side, you may wish to consider discussing the risk with your clients and discharging the mortgage directly or aborting the transaction.
Any result provided by Lawyer Checker should only form part of your decision making process and should not be considered as definitive. Lawyer Checker does not seek to make assumptions on the validity of firms.
Please also note that the service only covers entities operating in England and Wales.