HM Land Registry (HMLR) has confirmed it is taking action to support the home movers and conveyancers impacted by the sudden closure of PM Law earlier this month by contacting outstanding applications and publishing responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs).
The Sheffield-based law firm, along with some 20+ affiliates entities, closed suddenly at the start of February, leaving 650 staff unemployed and thousands of property and litigation transactions in limbo. In the last week the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) confirmed it was investigating “potential fraud, including the misappropriation of client money” at PM Law after it intervened in the firm. Gordons LLP has been appointed intervening agents with dedicated support on its website, with guidance published by the SRA for those affected being updated regularly.
The regulator and other stakeholders have come under fire for a lack of transparency and inaction to support home movers and conveyancers. In a scenario repeated at firms up and down the country, this publication was told piecing together the components of transactions is proving tricky, with uncertainty over who has what information, what has and hasn’t been submitted to bodies like HMLR.
Now HMLR says it is “acting to support customers with applications submitted by PM Law and its affiliates.” It is encouraging movers to appoint new legal representation as soon as possible and is making the previous applications available to newly appointed firms. Where a new firm is yet to be appointed, HMLR has said it is writing directly as many of those affected as possible, adding:
“We cannot guarantee we will be able to reach everyone due to the limited and variable nature of customer contact details provided to us by the firm, but we will do our utmost to reach as many as we can.”
Amongst a list of FAQs published by HMLR are directions to check if an application was previously uploaded by PM Law, and information about accessing documentation either directly, or via Gordons LLP.
The full list of FAQs can be found here.
One Response
Hands up who wants to put in an application for a completed matter which states that you are the acting conveyancer but the matter was completed by another firm? I’m not seeing a lot of support on how we help clients without placing ourselves at risk and liability.