What ID Does A Solicitor Need?

as400

When you exchange contracts are solicitors flexable on what ID needs to be shown?...I mean I don't have a passport or driving licence, so will utility bills or my credit card/cheque grntee card be OK?

They seem to want more ID than the original building society does!...yet they can see the 'paper trail' of where the money is comming from and where its going to....


What has been other peoples experiences?

as400

Just to add, I am not selling, just FTB. I have cheque book, guarantee card, credit card, bank statements, BT bill, tax forms, council tax forms, photographic work ID. Do you think this will be sufficient?

Alfie_E

The following is from the terms of business letter of a firm of solicitors I know.

…two items of personal identification, one of which, if possible, should include a recent photograph of yourself.

• Passport
• Driving Licence
• Birth Certificate
• Council Tax/Utility Bill (recent)
• Bank/Building Society Statement (recent)
• Mortgage Statement
• Current House/Motor Insurance Certificate
• Council Rent Book

Solicitors will try to be flexible. It looks like what you’ve got will be fine. When you approach a firm of solicitors, they’ll go over what will be satisfactory for them.

This all comes down to money laundering regulations. Solicitors might appear to be more picky. But, if they get it wrong, it has the potential to do them more personal harm than to anyone connected with a building society.

Bossyboots

Alfie E is right. The rules on producing ID are nothing to do with the solicitors, they have been compelled to do this by the Law Society to try to prevent money laundering. They actually should have insisted on photographic ID before even starting work for you, particularly as this is a conveyancing transaction which is the most vulnerable area of work for passing illicit funds.

myriadabellium

You might be asked for a passport or driving licence - I'm a trainee solicitor, having been a conveyancer for about 5 years, and we don't proceed without passport/driving licence backed up with utility bill to show current address.

This is only because of money laundering regulations, we find it a pain! And we will only take up to £1,000 in cash now which is also a bit of a pain because sometimes people want to pay a £1,500 deposit or whatever and we then need to wait for a cheque to clear if they won't stump up for a banker's draft. It's a lot safer, though.

as400

"we don't proceed without passport/driving licence "

Interesting isn't it that you can't buy a home unless you can drive or travel abroad?

Will they accept a provisional licence?

I hope my solicitors will be more flexable!

"as this is a conveyancing transaction which is the most vulnerable area of work for passing illicit funds."

Difficult to see how....Halifax have agreed my mortgage and will be passing funds through to the vendor via the solicitor......no money goes my way at all! I just get lumbered with a huge debt!....will they be asking Halifax for their driving licence and passport?

Bossyboots

as400 wrote:

"we don't proceed without passport/driving licence "

Interesting isn't it that you can't buy a home unless you can drive or travel abroad?

Will they accept a provisional licence?

I hope my solicitors will be more flexable!

"as this is a conveyancing transaction which is the most vulnerable area of work for passing illicit funds."

Difficult to see how....Halifax have agreed my mortgage and will be passing funds through to the vendor via the solicitor......no money goes my way at all! I just get lumbered with a huge debt!....will they be asking Halifax for their driving licence and passport?

Going backwards, the rules are not made just about your transaction, they are there for everyone. Conveyancing is well known for being the most vulnerable legal transaction in relation to money laundering. You could be absolutely anyone and I am surprised you have not been asked for your ID before. You may be organising a Halifax mortgage as a front and then after exchange suddenly produce the money from elsewhere (and if you think that is far fetched, don't. I have seen it happen). Your solicitor has no idea whether you are genuine or not so the rules apply to you just the same as everyone else. They need to show they took every step to check your ID.

As for your solicitor being more lenient, it has already been pointed out that it is not the solicitors that make the rules. It is just one more bit of bureaucracy imposed on them with substantial penalties for not following procedure. Their files are open to inspection at any time so they would be unwise to take a risk.

Is your provisional licence a photographic one? If so, they might accept that. It would not be ideal but I think they could get away with it.

RiskAdverse100

Here is a nice easy way to launder £30k through an incompetent solicitor:

1. Instruct solicitor to act in a purchase of a flat.
2. Avoid giving him any ID details.
3. Lodge £30k deposit in cash - dirty, as it is the illegal proceeds of drug sales.
4. On the day before contracts are due to be exchanged ring solicitor and pull out of the deal. Any reasonably sounding excuse will do.
5. Ask for deposit to be returned by cheque or bank transfer.

Your dirty money has been laundered.

If the actions of the solicitor are ever investigated then they are in deep doo-doo as they will not be able to show that they complied with the Money Laundering Regulations.

Useful to point out that a very good fraudster will have been able to produce fake id and fake gas bills etc. and so the money laundering may still have taken place. But at least if everyone involved in financial transactions takes some steps to check that the person you are dealing with really is who they say they are then, so it is claimed, the incidences of money laundering will reduce.

The Money Laundering Regulations apply EU wide. Those who live in countries with ID cards have no problems producing suitable ID evidence to solicitors. We don't have ID cards and so we have to produce passports and driving licences etc.

RiskAdverse100

as400

No problems....had a letter from the solicitors today giving a huge list of ID that was acceptable, much of it really very basic.

£5000 was the most they would accept as cash, guess this is par for the course for most solicitors, so would put an end to the above laundering scenario.

Though as mentioned above as well....there are some amazing sites out there that can produce top quality forms of ID from utility bills to bank statements to any form you can think of.

Any money laundering person worth their salt tablets could use these fake forms of ID to satisfy the regulations.

Bossyboots

as400 wrote:

No problems....had a letter from the solicitors today giving a huge list of ID that was acceptable, much of it really very basic.

£5000 was the most they would accept as cash, guess this is par for the course for most solicitors, so would put an end to the above laundering scenario.

Though as mentioned above as well....there are some amazing sites out there that can produce top quality forms of ID from utility bills to bank statements to any form you can think of.

Any money laundering person worth their salt tablets could use these fake forms of ID to satisfy the regulations.

TBH, I can't imagine many solicitors really care. Provided they can show that they have checked the ID (they need to keep a record on the file), they have discharged their responsibility. They are not experts in document forgery so they can only do their best.

Glad it all worked out for you though. It is a rule that is causing a lot of people problems now.