SOLICITORS have slammed a bank’s decision to prevent mortgage lenders from using their chosen law firm.
HSBC mortgage customers will no longer be able to use a Cumbrian law firm for conveyancing, following changes to the way the bank runs its residential mortgage division. New house buyers with an HSBC mortgage will now either have to agree to use one of the lender’s selected firms in another part of the country or pay twice to use their own solicitor.
A total of just 43 law firms will sit on HSBC’s panel for the whole of the UK, none of which are in Cumbria.
The Law Society, which represents solicitors, labelled the bank’s decision as absurd and said it limited consumer choice and could lead to delays in the home-buying process.
Sue Pyne, a partner and head of conveyance at solicitors Poole Townsend in Barrow, accused HSBC
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