Let’s broaden the question, should any conveyancing practice also own their own search company?
I came across the following wording recently in some Ts and Cs:
Depending on the transaction, we may use one of several search companies. One of the search providers, {xxxxx} Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary of {xxxxxx}, the parent company of {name of law firm}. Thus it is part of our group of companies. You are not obliged to use that search provider. If you have any concerns about this please contact us.
In a compliance environment where regulators are focusing their attention on cost transparency one might question whether such behaviour is acceptable. Whist the firm does make the position clear in their Terms and Conditions, is this acceptable? How is this in the interest of the underlying client? At the very least, I would have thought that the firm should be clear about the ‘markup’.