AML/source of funds complications of having many Regular Savers

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.

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81940149#Comment_81940149

For comparison, mine started the AML/compliance checks the day after I instructed them, while waiting for the draft contract papers.

1spiral

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81940177#Comment_81940177

We were asked to provide the source of all the funds within the first week of appointing them. The problem was they didn't look at them. Initially I thought it was going to be a good service because it appeared to have been outsourced to a specialist company but all the outsourcing company did was present the information to the conveyancer that I had given them. I rather expected them to do the digging.

I got the impression they were expecting me to say something along the lines of "here's a letter from the National Lottery showing my 6 figure win" which would've been straightforward. They weren't expecting me to say it was lifetime savings and I'm a rate tart moving my money from A to B every few weeks for an extra 0.05% interest.😃

Edit: The outsourced company was Armalytix.

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81940486#Comment_81940486

That is rather disappointing. I too was directed to one of those app-based services for identity and AML checks, but the solicitor separately asked me about my funding arrangements, and asked for documentation in addition to what I'd provided via the app. Then some follow-up questions and a request for more documents, where I took the opportunity to provide a focused, yet detailed executive summary of all I had provided so far. All in all it took two and a half weeks before I got the "all satisfactory" confirmation.

From what I understand, the online verification services are just looking to do things like identify income going into your bank account, verify things against credit files, check for suspicious activity, and verify ID documents. They are a first line check for any red flags. Mine apparently identified me as a potential Politically Exposed Person - because someone in the US of that persuasion shares my first name and has my middle name as their surname! So I had to sign a waiver that we were not related.

Financial institutions are adopting such services too, so far in a more limited way. There was a thread not so long ago where people were expressing surprise about being quizzed about their relationship to various PEPs when they opened their account.

clairec666

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81939561#Comment_81939561

Ah, thanks for explaining. No offence taken.

What frustrates me with solicitors is the lack of updates on progress. I sent a load of bank statements at the start of the process, they said they'd be in touch if they needed anything further, and then…. silence for two weeks. I chased up on this and they took two days to reply. Still no indication of whether AML checks are complete. They've since asked me to provide some information that I'd already sent them a month ago.

I guess they like doing things in a specific order, and we just have to leave them to it!

subjecttocontract

Many solicitors are overworked. They are juggling numerous property transactions at the same time. People generally employ a firm based on lowest cost which isn't always the best way to go. I always recommend taking the firm's enhanced service, if its available, which gives guaranteed direct contact & updates for a small extra cost.