Further to our e-mail of the 31^st March 2020 we want to take this opportunity to update you further with regard to the procedures we have now implemented, following the issue of the ERC’s formal guidance in respect of temporary measures in the industry concerning temporarily relaxing the F2F visits.

As you know, since 2014 it has been a mandatory requirement for Solicitors to have at least one face to face visit with clients during the equity release process. This is a requirement that Adlington Law whole heartedly agree with. This meeting enables us to form relationships with our clients and ensure that they are fully at ease when dealing with their equity release transaction. Indeed, we pride ourselves on our hand-holding approach to clients.

Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the hand of the industry, and an immediate change was required.

Our priority is, and always has been, the welfare of our clients and staff and the provision of high service levels for every client. Throughout this pandemic, it is our intention to retain the gold service standard whilst fully respecting the Government direction.

Since Boris Johnson’s speech and his call for everyone to stay home and protect the NHS, we at Adlington Law have done just that. The Prime Minister called for all non-essential travel to stop, to clear the roads and to try to reduce the spread of the virus. We have respected that request and are doing what we can as a business to protect our clients, our staff and our NHS.

Prior to the direction of the ERC, we developed a contingency plan to be implemented in the event of a lockdown situation, subject to approval by the Council. We developed a system which we were able to implement immediately, once we received direct notification from the Council that this was being agreed. This system enabled us to deal with our clients by way of video link or by way of a telephone conversation if the clients do not possess this type of technology.

What additional information are we putting into our letters to the client:

• We are advising our clients that under normal circumstances their advice would be provided by one of our Solicitors in a face to face appointment at their home however, due to the Covid-19 pandemic we are unable to carry out our normal procedure and are replacing this with one of the following options:
  • Advice from one of our Solicitors by way of video link whereby the client and Solicitor are able to see and hear each other as the advice is delivered;
  • Advice from one of our Solicitors by way of telephone, if the client does not have an email address and either a laptop, iPad or iPhone available to them.
• We are advising the client that their Mortgage Deed must be signed by an independent witness who must not be a relative or a beneficiary of the lifetime mortgage;
• We are requesting that the client provide us with details of their intended witness;
• We are assuring the client that they do not have to tell their witness what the document is or what it is for, so that they are not concerned with regard to privacy;
• We explain the options available to them in respect of social distancing guidelines to be adhered to when having the document witnessed;
  • we feel this is the best possible solution by adopting this procedure in the current climate rather than using our own Solicitor Consultants who would have to travel during lockdown, the client will most certainly know the person entrusted to witness this document.
• We explain that the client will need to return the pack of documents to us by way of first class post, as a minimum. However, if they are enclosing original identification documents, we have requested that they be sent by way of either Recorded Delivery or Next Day Signed for delivery;
  • We have confirmed that we will return any original documents to the client by the same means;
• We ask the clients to notify us if they are unable to return the packs, for whatever reason, however we do advise that this will more than likely delay their transaction until such time the current restrictions or self isolation periods are lifted.
• We do provide the option for the client to delay their Equity Release until the normal Face to Face visits resume although we do not envisage many clients agreeing to this option. We must always consider what is best for the client and let them decide how they wish to proceed.

Our Process:

• Upon initial instruction we immediately contact the client by way of telephone :
  • to introduce ourselves;
  • to explain these temporary measures in place for handling their equity release;
  • to explain that they will require an independent witness to witness their signature on their mortgage deed and to request full details of who that witness may be:
    • We will advise that the witness must not be a relative or anyone who stands to gain from their lifetime mortgage;
  • we will enquire as to whether the client has an email address and if so do they have either a laptop, iPad or iPhone available to them;
  • we will assure them that we will do everything we can to ensure their equity release proceeds as swiftly as possible;
• We then issue our introductory letters by post together with our terms and conditions, so that the clients are aware of our pricing details, including any additional charges for additional work such as solar panels, matrimonial matters, unregistered titles, etc. Within this letter we will request:
  • Any documentation required to enable us to deal with any obvious problems which may arise;
  • To request written authority for us to contact existing Lenders;
  • To request details of their proposed witness;
  • To obtain identification
• Once the offer is received, our packs are prepared in the same way as normal;
• The packs are then sent to clients together with covering letters explaining these temporary steps, as detailed above.
• Our Solicitors then make immediate contact with the client to :
  • ensure all paperwork has been received;
  • to ensure the client is comfortable with the new temporary measures;
  • to arrange a suitable time and arrangements for their advice to take place, once they have read through the documentation provided;
  • to confirm details of who the client intends to approach as an independent witness;

• Once the advice has taken place, we ensure that clients are happy to proceed and have their mortgage deed witnessed by their independent witness, whilst maintaining the recommended social distancing guidelines;
• The pack is then returned to us by the client together with any additional documentation that we may have requested;
• Thereafter, we handle the file as per our normal process;
• Once we are in receipt of a completion date, we will telephone the client to ensure they are happy to proceed with the equity release transaction and will confirm the completion date to them;
• On the day of completion, our accounts team will telephone the client to confirm that the funds have been transferred into their nominated account;
• The completion statements and receipted invoice are then sent to the client with a copy to the Financial Adviser.

At the Heart of all this, we are ensuring that our clients feel comfortable and secure and fully understand the process.

Our consultant Solicitors have been fully briefed and have contributed to the systems we have implemented, drawing on a wealth of legal knowledge and compliance.

We have done everything we can to try to minimise disruption to our service levels, however we do appreciate that there may be unavoidable delays due to the steps implemented by third parties to protect their own staff, such as Banks, Building Societies, Third Party Solicitors etc.

Our teams, have for the last three weeks been spread evenly throughout our two offices, including our home workers, to ensure, hopefully, there is always one working office and the home workers should anyone display symptoms. We are working hard to ensure we maintain the same gold standard service levels and those staff who are working from home are ensuring that all instructions are actioned promptly. From an IT side we have the ability to access all home workers systems, like we can do in the office, should they incur any problems.

Whilst we do have skeleton staff in the office, we are asking all providers to please keep all contact to email only, to enable us to deal promptly and efficiently with any incoming calls from our clients. We do appreciate there will be more vulnerable clients than usual, many of whom will be in self-isolation, and this is the reason why we took the decision to have the ability and staffing levels in the office to receive all their calls.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Carol Nuttall via email at carol@adlingtonlaw.co.uk