HSBC to include CQS firms on panel

Posted on 16 May 2012 by Conveyancing solicitors

After much gnashing of teeth and wailing the pressure placed on HSBC has at last paid off. The HSBC are about to announce that as from the 12th August the HSBC panel will include all bar the smallest of the CQS firms and without the quality reducing strictures placed on the 43 solicitor firms previously on their panel.

Thankfully HSBC have taken heed of the litany of complaints that came their way and presumably have realised the errors in their ways and the calamitous business decision that they made at the beginning of this year.

At last the concept of quality overriding quantity has come to the fore and the benefits of the CQS scheme are there for all of us to see.

The immediate future will be interesting for organisations such as “Countrywide” and the “Quality Solicitors” group with the latter allegedly eschewing the CQS in favour of their own brand.

A good day for those of us who have geed up fellow practitioners and those in the property industry to send HSBC a message.

David Knapp, Partner, Residential Conveyancing

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The future of the HSBC panel

Posted on 16 May 2012 by Conveyancing solicitors

When HSBC announced its limited panel of lawyers it was predicted that having such a restricted panel would ultimately lead to delays in conveyancing transactions where a separate conveyancer was appointed to act for the bank in relation to the mortgage.

People expected that this would create unnecessary duplication and delay. It might even dissuade some sellers from proceeding with buyers who were obtaining a mortgage from HSBC. Certain estate agents state that they have seen “horrendous delays on sales where mortgages have been arranged through HSBC”. Unfortunately the doom mongers have been proved right and the move has certainly tarnished HSBC’s image.

Some lawyers are so incensed at the restricted panel now being operated by HSBC that there is a threat that they will raise questions in relation to the bank’s policy at the bank’s AGM to be held on the 25th May next.

HSBC have recently said that they are taking active steps to substantially increase the size of their panel but increasing the panel from 43 to 48 is derisory. The general feeling is that HSBC is the author of its own misfortune and that the decision to restrict the panel was misguided and not thought through as fully as it should have been.

At a time when the housing market is shaky, it is incumbent upon lenders to try to remove obstacles in the way of those customers seeking to obtain mortgages rather than create more obstacles. Such an attitude increases the possibility of transactions falling through.

An announcement from HSBC is expected within the next few days as to the future of their panel and we like the rest of the profession await their comments with interest. Let’s hope that they have taken on board the myriad of criticisms the restricted panel has received since its inception in January.

Gary Score, Partner, Residential Conveyancing

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Tax planning – avoidance or evasion?

Posted on 15 May 2012 by Wills Trusts and Probate solicitors

On last night’s Panorama on BBC One, Darragh MacIntyre was looking into “tax planning” arrangements set up a by a number of large multinational companies, making use of beneficial tax rates in jurisdictions other than the UK, particularly Luxembourg.

The question was raised as to what level of “tax avoidance” is acceptable and when the tax planning verges on evasion, a criminal offence?

Another question often asked is whether tax avoidance is only for those that can afford it whereas the majority of people simply have to pay the tax calculated as being due.

At Hart Brown, we regularly advise on options to reduce the tax payable by individuals as well as trusts and estates, particularly from the point of view of inheritance tax.  We strongly recommend that clients only use tried and tested methods, rather than some of the complicated and expensive “schemes” that are on the market but which regularly get shut down by HMRC or the government at the earliest opportunity.

Careful and responsible tax planning can be available to almost everybody and considerable tax savings can be made by using long-established exemptions and reliefs.

Such “tax avoidance” steps should not be tarnished with the same brush as some of the overly complex schemes used by the companies referred to in Panorama’s documentary, which can really seem to verge towards evasion.

The real question is to what degree should we be morally obligated to pay tax and is it wrong to arrange your affairs in such a way as to minimise the effect of the amount of tax we have to pay?

Chris Thurlow, Associate Solicitor, Trust and Investment

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A rum business

Posted on 15 May 2012 by Commercial Dispute lawyer

By refusing to allow a further appeal the United States Supreme Court has brought to an end the expensive litigation between Pernod Ricard and Bacardi over entitlement in the USA to the Havana Club rum trademark. It represents the final chapter of the French company’s protracted but unsuccessful claim, which arose out of an 1992 agreement between Patrick Ricard and Fidel Castro and which was scuppered by the ‘Bacardi Bill’, an American law that prevented the registration of trademarks owned by Cubans.

However, Bacardi’s effective monopoly in the USA may not be guaranteed for ever. Pernod Ricard has created a new brand called Havanista, whose name it has registered at the American Patent and Trademark office just in case there is a change of government in Cuba and the USA decides to lift its embargo on Cuban products. It just goes to show that in the world of international commerce there may be more than one road to success.

David Whitney, Solicitor, Commercial Litigation

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School encourages pupils to sign same sex marriage petition

Posted on 11 May 2012 by Hart Brown

St Philomena’s a Catholic school in Surrey is being criticised for encouraging pupils to sign a petition against same sex marriage – is teaching the beliefs of the Catholic faith wrong – it is in conflict with the school’s responsibility to ensure that pupils are protected from political activity and campaigning in the classroom.

Faith schools have the freedom to teach about sexual relations and marriage, but should that extend to political campaigning?

Ursula Townsend, Chartered Legal Executive, Trust & Investment

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Life’s a bitch…

Posted on 08 May 2012 by Commercial Dispute lawyer

A community councillor from west Wales has made a successful application to the High Court in Cardiff for the censure by a local authority standards body to be set aside. When Malcolm Calver criticised other members of the council in his blogs, the Adjudication Panel for Wales found that he had failed to comply with the council’s code of conduct. However, the court agreed with his contention that contrary to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights the censure interfered with his freedom of expression. The judge commented that politicians had to live with ‘sarcasm and lampooning’ that the panel had referred to as ‘bitching from the sidelines’.

Satirists and cartoonists have been poking fun at politicians for years so it is rather surprising that the targets of Mr Calver’s sarcasm were so sensitive to his ‘snide’ comments.

David Whitney, Solicitor, Commercial Litigation

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High Court judge ruled library volunteer decision unlawful

Posted on 04 May 2012 by Hart Brown

When Surrey’s libraries were threatened with closure due to a lack of funds, the county council decided that the way to keep its other libraries open was for 10 libraries to be run by volunteers.  However, a High Court judge ruled this as being unlawful because the council had not considered sufficient training for volunteers.

Opponents of the scheme relied on the Equality Act 2010 to argue that the council had failed to discharge its public sector equality duties.  They said that the council did not provide enough evidence of having  given adequate equalities training for the volunteers to be able to assist those suffering with disabilities.

Whereas saving the libraries would benefit members of the community who rely on the facilities, replacing paid staff with volunteers would obviously impact on the labour market at a time when there is already high unemployment. However if the alternative is for the libraries to close then job losses would nevertheless result. Was the court’s decision influenced by the concept of paid staff being replaced by volunteers or was training the real issue?

Holly Rawson, Commercial Litigation

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HMRC apology over tax return error

Posted on 04 May 2012 by Hart Brown

H M Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have apologised to nearly 12,000 people who were wrongly sent penalty notices for the non filing of tax returns. Those affected by the error had previously been told that they were no longer required to complete a self assessment tax form because their tax bill could be dealt with through the pay as you earn (PAYE) system.

HMRC is sending out letters of apology to those who wrongly received penalty notices warning them of £10 daily fines for non filing which started on Tuesday. I hope that these letters were sent before the price of first and second class stamps increased on Monday. I suspect not and therefore about £6000 will have been spent on postal charges alone simply apologising for the error. The costs will escalate when you consider the work that will have been undertaken in generating the initial letters referring to fines and the postal charges that will have been incurred. This is an expense that the country cannot afford at any time let alone in the current climate. Would it not be appropriate for an apology to be made to all taxpayers in general for such waste being incurred?

HMRC issued a reminder to everyone who had not filed their 2010/2011 that daily penalties will be payable if tax returns were not returned before 1 May. Once the return is more than 3 months late a daily penalty of £10 for every day outstanding is payable in addition to a £100 fine.  More penalties are payable if the tax return is 6 months late.

Is this a sign that HMRC are becoming tougher during this recession?

Sue MacLeod, Senior Solicitor, Trust and Investment

 

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Does mother know best?

Posted on 30 April 2012 by Hart Brown

It has long been established in civil law that if a victim’s failure to wear a seatbelt contributed to the severity of their injuries then the Defendant can seek a deduction in the compensation payable.  This is known as contributory negligence.  But what of the case of a small child who relies on an adult, usually a parent, to make sure they are safely seated in a car?

This week, in the High Court, a mother was criticised for using the wrong type of car seat for her 3 year old child.

The mother’s car was fitted with a booster child seat and a forward facing child seat with a 5 point harness which was said to be suitable for children age 9 months and 4 years.  The booster seat was designed for children aged between 4 and 10 years old or 15kg to 36kg in weight.  The manufacturer of the booster seat said in its instructions that failure to use the seat properly could increase the risk of serious injury in an accident.  The mother’s car was involved in a serious accident which was not the mother’s fault.  The child, who was sitting in the booster seat at the time, suffered serious injuries.

After hearing expert evidence the judge concluded that the little girl would have suffered less serious injuries had she been restrained in the child seat with the 5 point harness.  The judge also decided that the mother although “an excellent and caring mother “was negligent when she chose to place the girl in the booster seat rather than the more appropriate car seat to restrain her.  He ordered the mother to pay a 25% contribution towards her daughter’s compensation.  In reality the mother’s contribution will probably be paid by the insurer of her car.

Do you think the mother was negligent when she chose to place her daughter on the booster seat rather than the child seat?

Dr Caroline Kerr, Senior Solicitor, Personal Injury

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Today’s Constitutional

Posted on 30 April 2012 by Commercial Dispute lawyer

The Attorney-General for Northern Ireland has begun proceedings in the high court in Belfast against the former Northern Ireland Secretary  Peter Hain.  John Larkin QC is alleging that, by publishing in his autobiography criticisms of a judgment delivered in Belfast some years earlier, Peter Hain scandalised the court and is guilty of contempt.  He appears to be relying on a decision dating back to medieval times.

The case is giving rise to much debate about the balance between the alleged undermining of the administration of justice and freedom of speech.  With Northern Ireland’s senior judges supporting the Attorney-General and a significant number of MPs backing Mr Hain the controversy looks set to develop into a battle of words between the judiciary and the legislature.

It’s a pity Mr Dicey isn’t around to comment!

David Whitney, Solicitor, Commercial Litigation 

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