What’s in a name

Your name, the correct spelling of your name in particular, is of great importance to us during the conveyancing process. Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, we at Harrison Clark Rickerbys solicitors along with many institutions are required to confirm the identity and address of new and existing clients. This is because solicitors who deal with money and property on behalf of their clients can be used by criminals wishing to launder money.

Reporting from our Herefordshire offices, I have had two instances this week alone in my where an incorrect spelling of a client’s name has caused delays.

In the first instance, we received a mortgage offer where one singular letter in the clients name was incorrect. Amusingly, it transpired that the client and her family had spelt her name incorrectly since birth ! However as the birth certificate, passport and driving licence all had the correct spellings we did not have to wait too long for a new mortgage offer to be issued.

In the second instance, our clients were buying a new build property with the aid of a Help to Buy Equity mortgage. They got married after they had made their application for a mortgage. The id documents that the clients supplied at their initial meeting with their broker were soon out of date after Ms X became Mrs Y.

The mortgage offer arrived in their unmarried names, their Help to Buy paperwork arrived in their married names.

We reported this to the Lender with a certified copy of the marriage certificate which triggered the whole of the underwriting process to start again leading to a delay of 2 weeks before the revised offer was issued. The client missed their exchange deadline, we all had extra work to do and we still wait to hear whether the discounts and incentives that were originally offered to them on the basis they met the exchange deadline will still be available to them.

Therefore, when you are filling out your mortgage application forms, Help to Buy paperwork and the forms we will send you please make sure that your name is spelt correctly and perhaps cross reference this with your passport, driving licence or ID documents you are providing.

Please do get in touch with me for further advice and assistance. If you are buying or selling property in Herefordshire and require a solicitor.