Solicitor inappropriate questions?

hogweed

My daughter in law (E) is buying her first house. I myself have moved many times, and worked as an estate agent back in the 90s, and am puzzled by things that are happening to her, causing her some distress.

1. The solicitor has asked for access (via the banking app) to her and her husband’s bank accounts. In the first place, I’m not sure why they need this information – but, in any case, surely it is unwise to give ANY 3rd party access to your banking app?

2. The woman they rent their current house from says she expects them to redecorate, paint etc the entire house before leaving. I don’t think this is reasonable? They’re lived there for 6 years but, when E has asked for repairs to be done to the property, the landlord has promised they’ll be attended to, but then does nothing – so the upstairs toilet doesn't work, the shower has leaked through the living room ceiling etc.

Any advice or pointers much appreciated 😊

Thanks

Flugelhorn

crikey no - I wouldn't give anyone access to my accounts - what do they want this for?

(I have had 6 sales / purchases with current solictor over last 8 years - never been asked for this - just the account details and that is it)

landlady is silly - they could paint it orange and purple with pink stripes

user1977

I suspect she has misunderstood what they're asking for (Chinese whispers probably don't help - she is welcome to post here herself!). I expect the solicitors are using Open Banking as part of their anti-money-laundering checks, so it's "read only" access for the purpose of checking she's the accountholder and verifying the source of funds - not letting anybody else empty her account.

Neil49

I don't think their bank would be very impressed if they discovered that they had willingly handed full access to their bank accounts to a third party. I appreciate that money laundering and source of funding is an issue imposed on solicitors (and now estate agents as well) but that is a step too far.

If they persist then I would look for another solicitor to do the work - ideally one that doesn't charge if the purchase doesn't go through for any reason.

hogweed

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81928765#Comment_81928765

Thanks for that - I had no idea such a thing existed, but having had a quick read up on it, you're probably right that she's misunderstood it - there again, I'd hope the solicitor woudl understand that most people have little understanding of these things, and explain it clearly.

They now appear to be trying to sell her financial "services" as well…

Myci85

1. I think some solicitors use open banking instead of requesting bank statements these days. I don't imagine it is the same as them giving their banking app log in details, though I have not used it myself.
2. Their landlord can't expect them to redecorate the entire house, unless at some point they were given permission to decorate how they wanted providing they returned it to neutral when they left. They would need to rectify any damage they have caused that is beyond fair wear and tear, but redecoration should be expected as a landlord cost after 6 years, unless they've significantly damaged the decor. Did they have an inventory on check in? And is their deposit registered with a deposit protection service?

Nearlyold

Solicitors ask for Open Banking access to help them comply with anti money laundering rules. The data needed is provided directly from the bank to the solicitor with no other intermediary involved thus reducing the risk of fake bank statements etc.

Solicitors using open banking for anti money laundering are not given any operating control of the account.

mills112

I have had to do this and it feels very insecure that they can access my bank account as i had to log in while in their link. this is a very easy way to steal your log on details if anyone was devious enough to put that into that link!

i had a few bank accounts so i had to give access to them all! i didn't feel it was a good way to vet people in terms of security but it is quite common as bank statements can be forged so they want to see it from the direct source.

RAS

You've got two queries here.

E and partner need to return the property to the LL in the condition in which they took it over, less wear and tear. Repainting the whole house is likely to be betterment, which is not allowed. Unless E has repainted some rooms skybluepink without the LLs permission in which case it need to be repainted in the original colour.

Did the LL do an incoming inventory and share that? Are there any photos of the state of the property when the rental started? If not, the LL will find it difficult to prove deficiencies.

Check which scheme the deposit is registered with, that registration has been continuous and if it's insurance based ( harder to deal with).

user1977

 i had to log in while in their link. this is a very easy way to steal your log on details if anyone was devious enough to put that into that link!

You're sending your login details directly to your bank, nobody else is getting hold of them

Eilidh1970

The last couple of times I have worked with a solicitor, they have used a thing called Amiqus, which asks you to log in to the accounts your funds are coming from. It's an anti-money laundering check as others here have said. Maybe this is similar to what she has been asked to do.