The Intermediary – July 2025 - Flipbook - Page 34
RESIDENTIAL
Opinion
It’s time advisers
toss out legal fees
A
s the mortgage advice
market continues
to evolve under
the watchful eye of
Consumer Duty,
there is read-across
to other parts of the market that
bear thinking about, particularly for
advisers in the conveyancing space.
Transparency, of course, remains
one of the core expectations placed
on all mortgage market participants,
but one has to wonder whether that
is the truly the case when it comes to
conveyancing advice. If not, advisers
are potentially storing up issues for
themselves if their client is less than
clear, particularly when it comes
to what they are likely to be paying
for conveyancing.
Let’s take remortgage conveyancing
as the prime example given the
preponderance of ‘fixed fee’ offers in
this space. There could be a number
of fee transparency issues to address –
perhaps most obviously, the persistent
and oen overlooked legal firm
‘onboarding fee’.
Sometimes referred to as a ‘digital
journey fee’, ‘client app charge’, or
‘portal access cost’, this is typically
associated with a firm’s digital
platform. They encourage the client to
sign up so it can be used for document
uploads, ID checks, and case tracking.
While there’s absolutely nothing
wrong with that service, given it will
deliver a more efficient process, I
would question why legal firms charge
for this in the first place – we ask our
firms not to – and warn that the way
it is presented and charged for is less
than upfront and transparent.
In many cases, this onboarding fee
is hardly ever disclosed clearly within
the initial quote provided to the client.
It may be referenced deep within the
small print or, in some instances,
omied altogether. Clients may only
become aware of the charge later down
the line, when they have already been
told the ‘cost’ of conveyancing, leaving
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The Intermediary | July 2025
them feeling confused and misled.
This is particularly concerning
when the firms charge per person,
rather than per case, and where
fees to onboard can be upwards of
£35 per person plus VAT – £84 for a
remortgaging couple. That’s before
they get wind of any other fees which
may not be part of the ‘fixed fee’.
Effectively, the ‘aention-grabbing’
headline figures, like £245 or £299 per
remortgage conveyancing case, offered
by these firms are just nonsense from
the very start. While the initial fee
suggests simplicity and clarity, what’s
oen missing are the supplementary
costs that can quickly inflate the total
bill. These may include additional ID
verification charges, Land Registry
top-ups for larger loans, and critically,
that onboarding fee.
While some firms do disclose these
charges up front, others do not. In
some instances, the onboarding fee
is described as optional, yet clients
who decline it are charged a similar
fee for ‘manual’ processing. The cost
is effectively unavoidable, but not
transparently communicated.
The inconsistency in how these
fees are presented contributes to
client confusion and puts advisers in
a difficult position when queries or
complaints inevitably arise. Advisers
invariably have to give up their own
referral income in order to cover
these costs and save the relationship,
because the client had no idea they
were going to be required to pay this,
and the fixed fee wasn’t as fixed as they
had assumed.This is where Consumer
Duty becomes especially relevant.
Advisers are expected to ensure clients
fully understand the products and
services they are using and paying for.
That includes the legal fees associated
with remortgaging. Failing to flag
these kinds of additional charges could
result in a loss of trust, reputational
damage, or worse, a formal complaint.
Don’t get me wrong, we’re not
talking about additional and
HARPAL SINGH
is CEO at conveybuddy
unexpected legal work that the
conveyancing firm is required to do
during the case, but those charges that
are routinely incurred. Firms know
about these from the outset, but they
will not include them in the fixed fee
or core quote, and therefore are likely
to be misleading the client.
Encouragingly, many brokers are
recognising this. Some have already
moved towards recommending
only those firms where the fees are
genuinely inclusive and clearly
itemised from the outset, or don’t
charge an onboarding fee in the
first instance.
While this may occasionally mean
advisers accepting a slightly lower
referral fee, the benefits – reduced
complaints, smoother case handling,
and a stronger client relationship –
are worth it.
Ultimately, onboarding platforms
and digital solutions are a valuable
part of the modern conveyancing
process. But if they come with a cost,
that cost must be made clear.
Clients should know exactly what
they are paying, and why, from the
outset. It’s not just good practice, it’s
fundamental to trust. And if you as
the adviser are aware of those other
costs likely to be incurred but don’t
highlight them, then you must accept
that the client is going to come back to
you looking for answers.
As expectations around
transparency and fairness continue
to rise, especially in the context of
Consumer Duty, it’s essential advisers
ensure clients are never surprised by
fees they didn’t know existed. A fixed
fee should mean just that. If additional
charges apply in most cases, they
should no longer be treated as extras.
It’s as simple as that. ●
