RESPONDING to our coverage of the Consumer Association's recent mortgage survey in which the association reminds buyers that there is no such thing as a set fee or scale for conveyancing, and that consumers should shop around for a competitive fee, Mr Brian Gallagher of the Dublin Solicitors' Bar Association writes:

"To an ever increasing extent lending institutions, in particular the Irish Permanent, have been adding to the amount of work they require borrower's solicitors to carry out while at the same time advertising `no fees'.

"For example, quite recently - the Irish Permanent issued a 27 page instructions form to be followed by borrower's solicitors. I understand that the Advertising Standards Agency rebuked the Irish Permanent for its `no fees' advertising campaign. In these circumstances, the lending institution is not actually charging any fees itself, but is imposing on the borrower's solicitor the duty to act as solicitor for the lending institution and carry out many of the functions which should be carried out in house, for example making sure that insurance is in order.

"If the lending institutions impose ever increasing burdens on borrower's solicitors, then solicitor's fees will of course have to rise.

Following complaints from the Bar Association the Irish Permanent has reduced the booklet from 27 to six pages, writes Mr Gallagher.

While forbidden in law to charge a redemption fee when a mortgage is paid off early, Mr Gallagher also claims that "most lending institutions charge scheduling and vacate fees when a mortgage is redeemed. The scheduling fee is meant to cover the scheduling of the documents (even though the borrower's solicitor has probably done this already) and the vacate fee is to cover the lender's fee for sealing a vacate or release of mortgage form. Once more the Irish Permanent heads of the list of charges, having recently increased the lees so that they now exceed £80 in total".

The Bar Association intends to issue a list of comparative scheduling vacate fees shortly, says Mr Gallagher.

A spokesperson for the Irish Permanent told Family Mooney that last January it switched to a new system of conveyancing within the company, dropping the traditional panel of solicitors who worked on its behalf and set up a permanent legal processing centre in house. "Because we changed our procedures this also meant changes to the way we dealt with the borrower's solicitors, but I think the problems are being ironed out." The spokesman said that the current scheduling and vacate fees are justified based on the level of speed and service offered by the Irish Permanent.