Don’t You Know Who I Am?

Sometimes clients call and email us wanting an update, only to be told that we are waiting for them to provide proof of identification and address. This applies even if we have previously represented you.

We are under a legal duty to take steps to combat money laundering and property fraud. If audits discover that we have failed to properly identify a client and their source of funds, we can be sanctioned by their regulatory bodies. This would prevent us from representing clients using certain mortgage lenders

Increasingly we are doing this by e-mail and text. This means you can provide the required information at a time suitable to you, without needing to call into our office.

However, it’s not simply for our benefit that we ask that you provide proof of identification. Consider the recent case of the clergyman who invested in a property in his hometown of Luton, but because of his job, lived in North Wales.

Having rented the property out for several years, it was now empty. However, after receiving a call from a neighbour informing him he had left the lights on, he was concerned enough to return to Luton. Upon arriving at the house he was perturbed to find builders coming in and out. He was even more alarmed when, on entering the property, he was accosted by a man asking what he was doing in his house.

After years of diligent investigation by the erstwhile owner, the story was pieced together.  Criminals had stolen his identity. They used the empty address to have bills sent to and a bank account set up using the property as the address. In turn, they had been able to persuade an estate agent and a solicitor that they owned the property and sold it to an unwitting buyer, who bought it in good faith.

A number of years and renovations later, the clergyman was able to persuade the Land Registry that his ownership be restored. Compensation has been paid and fortunately he had somewhere else to live whilst all this occurred. However, he was not able to move straight back in. During the period in which the property was once again empty, squatters moved in and had to be evicted.

If the solicitors acting on the sale had used an online verification of identification and address, years of stress and inconvenience could have been averted. This would have highlighted discrepancies in length of ownership of the property. Moreover there would have been far less work for all concerned. Ten minutes spent completing proof of identification and address requirements would seem to be time well spent.

To find out more about how we can help, please contact us by calling 0114 272 9721 or click here.