AML/source of funds complications of having many Regular Savers

Enzo_L

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81938272#Comment_81938272

I've vastly reduced my savings accounts in anticipation of this issue. All my regular savers have gone in the last year, and I had about 25 at one stage. It would just be too onerous and pointless to maybe have to provide statements for all of them, plus my other financial stuff.

But to the regulators, "activity not related to the funds" isn't a distraction, it is a "red flag" that the solicitor ignores at his or her peril.

I remember when life used to be simple …….

masonic

Yes, a clear example of legislation "wishing" things into being without working out the details or providing clear guidance and mechanisms for compliance. End result is a headache for those involved in legitimate transactions. But now we are really getting off topic, so I shall leave it at that!

flaneurs_lobster

Can I assume that this entire conversation is to do with providing the source of funds when buying a property using the services of a solicitor?

Because it's not at all obvious from the title or first post.

Any other situations when this proof might be needed?

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81938349#Comment_81938349

Yes, it was related to conveyancing. However, there have been a couple of other threads outlining that similar processes are being rolled out to investment providers and potentially even savings. Dunstonh mentioned that he has seen this happening over the last year or two, so it is something to be generally aware of.

Edit: I've gone back and edited my "first post" that was split out to add some of the context back in and hopefully make this system-created thread make more sense!

Dizzycap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81938355#Comment_81938355

Trading212 were on my case 2 years ago regarding source of funds for my S&S ISA after transfer in. It was a real faff at the solicitors proving financial compliancy that would satisfy them, but it got sorted in the end. However, now funds are being transfered out again and I've had to declare that the funds being transferred "are not intended for any illegitimate purposes, such as financing ter*orism". So it's gone one step further for investments / investment vehicles.

I've yet to get a pull with regards to savings and RS accounts, but thankfully I've already covered my back with those as a part of the original Trading212 faff around.

1spiral

I posted a couple of weeks back in one of the threads that was subsequently removed that we had an awful time trying to provide source of funds for a house purchase.

About half of the funds had come from an inheritance, the remainder were lifetime savings. The conveyancer dealing with our case was clearly unqualified to deal with it and was constantly referring the case for additional opinions. Our searches and questions were all completed in about 7 weeks. At that point they moved on to AML checks. These took a further 6 weeks and 4 or 5 bouts of additional questions.

In the end we had provided over 80 documents and spent a total of 30 hours pulling the information together which entailed going back around 2 years worth of transaction history for most accounts.

One particular gripe that I have is that the institutions don't always use a meaningful description when transferring funds. Monument for example just use your name so it becomes a bit more problematic to trace funds whereas if it said my name and Monument, it would be a bit more helpful and therefore easier for the conveyancer to follow the funds.

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81938459#Comment_81938459

"It was a real faff at the solicitors proving financial compliancy that would satisfy them"

The above has me a little confused. Hopefully this was something specific to your case and Trading212 doesn't ordinarily drive people to a solicitor when obtaining documentation for funds from an inward ISA transfer! 😨

clairec666

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81938214#Comment_81938214

Thanks for the backup, I thought the "ignorant" comment was a bit unfair. Most of us have no idea what a solicitor's job entails, but are often frustrated by our dealings with them and need to vent some frustration from time to time.

Enzo_L

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81939067#Comment_81939067

By "ignorant" I meant that you didn't know, not that you were "pig ignorant". I didn't want or intend to offend you and I've nothing against you. I enjoy your postings.

Rather than "vent some frustration" the best thing to do when you're wondering about a delay is to contact the solicitor and ask. There will always be a reason. Solicitors don't just leave conveyancing files untouched for weeks. They are often waiting themselves due to Land Registry delays, or because a property is being sold from an estate and there are delays with probate, or for a myriad of other reasons. But if you ask you'll always be told specifically what the delay is.

Similarly, if you find AML enquiries onerous or if the solicitor asks for more information, ask why. You'll get an explanation, and for AML queries it may well be accompanied by a heartfelt moan about how much of a pain it all is for them.

Don't get frustrated. An explanation is part of the service you're paying for.

1spiral

"Solicitors don't just leave conveyancing files untouched for weeks. They are often waiting themselves due to Land Registry delays"

Although I accept that is true, in my case the problem was that they waited until everything else was complete before moving on to the AML checks. If they had started these at the same time as the searches etc. it would've saved 6-7 weeks (and been much less stressful for us).

The stress for us was caused because us not providing this information what was seen as constantly holding up the chain whereas the reality of it was that it wasn't a 5 minute job to pull the info together. After submitting the info, they would take about a week looking at it before coming back with more questions. Had they run the AML stuff in parallel with the standard conveyancing, AML checks would've added no additional time to the completion, nor been stressful to complete.