Conveyancing quality scheme (CQS): ensuring quality and trust

When you're in the process of buying or selling a property, you are no doubt aware of the number of organisations that you might need to get involved to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

One of the key components to a successful transaction is the law firm that you choose to look after the legal aspects of your purchase or sale. You'll want to know that they are trusted, trustworthy and will do the best job possible with you firmly at the centre of their focus.

This is why it's important to choose a company like Homeward Legal, whose conveyancing solicitors, who are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), are accredited under the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS).

The CQS is a recognised quality standard that is operated by the Law Society, which is the independent professional body that oversees the solicitor profession in England and Wales, which includes conveyancing solicitors among their number. Their purpose is to drive continued excellence in the solicitors' work while providing a level of support to them and a point of contact for the public.

To be awarded the accreditation, the law firm must also be regulated by the SRA.

Having the CQS accreditation shows prospective clients that the law firm has achieved the requisite level of customer service that assures quality.

When the law firm has been given the accreditation, the customer can be confident that they will receive a professional and quality conveyancing service as defined within the CQS scheme rules, which are laid out in the CQS Client Charter.

The Law Society of England and Wales has established their Client Charter to cover the scheme, which is designed to set the level of expectations for the consumer, so that they are clear on what they can reasonably demand of their conveyancing solicitor.

Any firm that has attained the CQS accreditation must provide the following:

• Clear communication on the steps in the conveyancing process and what to expect from your assigned conveyancing solicitor
• Clear detail on what the costs for the service will be
• Clear and regular communication on the status and progress of the transaction
• Confirmation that the work performed on your behalf will conform to the quality standards as defined in the CQS

From a personal standpoint, the firm and their conveyancing solicitors will demonstrate the following:

• They will be polite and professional at all times
• They will treat you with fairness
• They will respond to your requests and enquiries promptly
• They will inform you of any problems arising as soon as they are made aware of them
• They will ask you for feedback on their service and, importantly, act on those responses to feed into their continuous improvement

The law firm seeking the accreditation must first gain membership to the scheme.

A Senior Responsible Person (or SRO) is assigned, who is the point of contact for the scheme as well as the designated person responsible for seeing that everyone in the law firm works to the required standard, that all training has been successfully completed in a timely manner, and they oversee the annual renewal of the accreditation.

The accreditation process is designed so that firms have to demonstrate a continuous improvement methodology that converts into the provision of a constant high quality of the service they provide to the end customer. 

With any process, it can be the case that shortcuts through the designed process are adopted for whatever reason. To keep the accreditation - and therefore the service provided to the customer - as high and honest as possible, the Law Society regularly carries out surprise audits to ensure firms are on top of the requirements of the CQS and the accreditation award.

Obtaining - and crucially maintaining - the CQS accreditation by providing the requisite high-quality service to the customer works for both the law firm and the customer.

For the law firm, demonstrable quality legal processes will result in repeat assignments and recommendations from satisfied customers, because it gives the customer a level of assurance in the credibility of the firm.

For the customer, there are certain guarantees that they can expect:

1. Expertise - the customer should expect their assigned conveyancing solicitor to know what they are talking about, executing the transaction with knowledge and experience, applying that to all aspects of the transaction regardless of its complexity or unusual nature.
2. Guidance - the customer should expect to receive information and education in understanding the cost structure for the legal services and what they are paying for, as well as understanding what the process is throughout the transaction from the point the solicitor is assigned to the transaction until the completion of the transaction is signed off.
3. Compliance - the customer should expect their transaction to be managed with clarity throughout, with a mutually-agreed communication plan, and the knowledge that risks and unexpected issues will be managed with a standard process that mitigates or removes the impact, in compliance with a set of stringent standards and protocols.
4. Focus - the customer should expect their transaction to be the focus of the assigned conveyancing solicitor at key points, with regular updates in the agreed communication plan so that they know what is happening now and what is expected to happen next and when.

One of the many benefits of working with a conveyancing law firm with CQS accreditation is that many mortgage lenders - who will have a panel of approved conveyancing firms - will insist that the conveyancer you want to appoint is part of the firm that has achieved the CQS accreditation.

For the customer, then, working with a conveyancing firm with current CQS accreditation will give them the peace of mind that, as far as the conveyancing process is concerned, there will be no unmitigated risks and nasty surprises, managed with a focus that will lead to as early a completion as possible on their transaction.

If you are looking for a focused conveyancing solicitor with the expertise and knowledge to manage your transaction effectively, you'll want an SRA-regulated solicitor working for a firm with CQS accreditation.

The experts at Homeward Legal will talk you through each stage of the process so that you know what is happening at any point and why and what your role is. They are well-versed in all aspects of the conveyancing process, providing a quality conveyancing service at a fee that is great value for money!

Call  to get your conveyancing quote started, or to discuss your concerns with your plans to purchase or sell your next home.