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AIBU?

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Original poster

Why is our solicitor so unreasonable and intrusive?

120 replies

Alexiaa · 04/09/2022 12:20

Hello,

I think I'm posting in a wrong section but I really need as many answers as possible.. So... Me and my partner are buying a house in Scotland. Offer accepted, mortgage offer received, purchase should be completed after 5 days. However… Last Friday our solicitor asked for bank statements showing the money with which we will fund our purchase. We sent them to him, and now he is having a problem with a credit to my account made at the end of July. The credit is 2500 pounds. This money originally came from my partner’s uncle who lives in the USA. So the uncle sent the dollars to my partner’s brother, my partner’s brother then sent it to my partner, my partner converted dollars to pounds and then sent them to me. Here are my questions:

  1. The dollars were originally a birthday gift for my partner; after receiving it we went on holiday and spent about 2000 pounds already, so just a small portion of this money is now left. We can very easily fund our purchase even without the uncle’s money because we have nearly a six-figure sum in savings. We have explained everything to our solicitor, we said like ‘we have lots of savings, these couple thousands do not even matter, we were never going to fund our purchase with it, it was for holidays…’ but the solicitor kind of refused to hear it and asked to see my partner’s bank statement showing him sending the money to me and his brother sending the money to him. He also asked to see brother’s bank statement and requested that his brother signed a gifting paper. Also, the solicitor was even upset as to 'why we waited until the last minute to inform him about receiving any gifts.' But it has nothing to do with the purchase, come on... :(
  1. My partner’s brother provided his bank statement and signed gifting papers; what would have happened if he had point blank refused? Also, he originally received the money from the uncle living in the USA, so will the uncle have to sign gifting papers even though he never sent anything to my partner directly? Is this money legally a gift from the uncle or from my partner’s brother? Tomorrow is Monday, so the solicitor will be open and we don't know what to expect.
  1. Our completion date is September 9th and the uncle is not in the USA at the moment, so he cannot go to a lawyer there and sign anything; he is flying back home only September 25th. What will happen if we are asked to provide any documents from the uncle but are unable to? The uncle is old and has never used any online banking, he just has a couple cards; if he wants statements, he must go to a branch to get them printed, and now it is impossible of course.
OP posts:
readsalotgirl63 · 04/09/2022 12:22

I think this may be to do with money laundering regulations. I know when our DD was buying her flat she had to demonstrate where the deposit was coming from. We had to evidence that it was inheritance from her grandma

MrsDanversRidesAgain · 04/09/2022 12:24

Ask the solicitor why they need this info and explain the problem with getting the details - but agree, it's ML regs.

ChagSameachDoreen · 04/09/2022 12:24

I had to go through this rigmarole with my solicitor because my parents had given me some money - again, surplus to what I was using for the house purchase. It's to do with money laundering apparently. The sale couldn't go through without my dad going in person to their offices with 6 months of bank statements and a gift declaration. Absolute pain in the anus.

Clymene · 04/09/2022 12:27

Yes it's money laundering regulations and they'll lose their job if they don't follow them.

And this: This money originally came from my partner’s uncle who lives in the USA. So the uncle sent the dollars to my partner’s brother, my partner’s brother then sent it to my partner, my partner converted dollars to pounds and then sent them to me. would ring massive alarm bells for anyone I'm afraid.

Why on earth did you keep moving the cash around like that?

JennyMule · 04/09/2022 12:29

Not unreasonable of your solicitor, but a legal requirement under the Anti money laundering regulations. The conveyancing process in Scotland, being much more efficient than in England, makes complying with AML difficult, which is unreasonable, but that's not the solicitor's fault. Similarly the intrusiveness that you perceive isn't their fault either.

MrsDanversRidesAgain · 04/09/2022 12:29

Why on earth did you keep moving the cash around like that?

Missed that. All that faffing around makes it look as if there's something hinky going on with the money. Like money laundering - and trust me, OP you really don't want to fall foul of those antil ML regulations.

JennyMule · 04/09/2022 12:30

Also the moving of funds through different accounts is a red flag as PP said. Classic example straight from the training videos!

filka · 04/09/2022 12:33

I had my bank account closed after 25 years, no questions asked, because I received £2500 from UAE. So at least your solicitor is asking...

Swimmingpoolsally · 04/09/2022 12:34

It’s money laundering, why would it go through so many accounts, that makes no sense

BecauseICan22 · 04/09/2022 12:34

Legal person here.

Money laundering regs, Solicitor HAS to be airtight that all the relevant checks have been done and questions asked and answered.

It's not worth their practicing certificate to do otherwise.

KettrickenSmiled · 04/09/2022 12:37

Your solicitor is neither unreasonable or intrusive OP.
They are - funnily enough, for a lawyer - following procedure, as PP have explained re: AML.

If they failed to do this, they could lose their licence.

Tangelablue · 04/09/2022 12:37

It is common for fraudsters to move money from account to account to make the money difficult to track. I'm not surprised he seems annoyed, what should be straight forward has now become a load more extra work.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 04/09/2022 12:39

Money laundering.

Swimmingpoolsally · 04/09/2022 12:44

The question is if it was a birthday present for your partner why did his uncle send it to his brother, to send to your partner and why did he send it to you. It looks like something dodge was happening.

it takes several years a a fuck ton of work to qualify as a solicitor. It is a requirement for their registration to check anything that looks dodgy like this.

Original poster
Alexiaa · 04/09/2022 12:46

Thanks everyone for the replies?

So the question now is: will we need to get statements and gifting papers from the uncle, as well as his ID?

By the way, my partner's brother receives gifts from the uncle every year; during family birthdays, Christmas, Easter and so on. He's never had any problems or questions from anyone, his bank accounts were never blocked. The uncle is childless, so he believes it is good to be generous to his nephews and nieces. He has no illegal income, just pension, some disability payouts and savings.

OP posts:
MrsDanversRidesAgain · 04/09/2022 12:48

It looks like something dodge was happening.

Yep. And solicitor wants to make sure it's above board and that there's nothing else that looks dubious in those statements.

Butitsnotfunnyisititsserious · 04/09/2022 12:51

Clymene · 04/09/2022 12:27

Yes it's money laundering regulations and they'll lose their job if they don't follow them.

And this: This money originally came from my partner’s uncle who lives in the USA. So the uncle sent the dollars to my partner’s brother, my partner’s brother then sent it to my partner, my partner converted dollars to pounds and then sent them to me. would ring massive alarm bells for anyone I'm afraid.

Why on earth did you keep moving the cash around like that?

Yep. They're right to question it and tbh any gifts of money should have been told to your solicitor.

Libertyqueen · 04/09/2022 12:54

If it’s all innocent then it’s really nothing to worry about. It’s just a bit of a pain. But it’s a really important thing that we as a country know where money is coming from and many banking and legal professionals have a legal requirement to ensure any money is not laundered.
S/he is just doing their job.
In terms of what you need to do to prove it’s all above board, best thing is to ask you solicitor. They will know best what documentation is required.

LetHimHaveIt · 04/09/2022 12:55

Christ, if you genuinely think that constitutes unreasonable and intrusive behaviour, you've led a bloody charmed life. Frigging about with money like that looks dodgy AF, and he or she was 100% right to flag it. Have you never heard of money laundering regulations?

KettrickenSmiled · 04/09/2022 12:57

So the question now is: will we need to get statements and gifting papers from the uncle, as well as his ID?

Sorry not to be able to offer constructive advice on this point, but mistakenly read this as "gimping papers from his uncle."
That's definitely nefarious, & your solicitor should be looking into it pronto.

Swimmingpoolsally · 04/09/2022 12:57

Alexiaa · 04/09/2022 12:46

Thanks everyone for the replies?

So the question now is: will we need to get statements and gifting papers from the uncle, as well as his ID?

By the way, my partner's brother receives gifts from the uncle every year; during family birthdays, Christmas, Easter and so on. He's never had any problems or questions from anyone, his bank accounts were never blocked. The uncle is childless, so he believes it is good to be generous to his nephews and nieces. He has no illegal income, just pension, some disability payouts and savings.

Which is fine. But does it go through several accounts before it gets there and was he buying a house.

luxxlisbon · 04/09/2022 12:57

So the uncle sent the dollars to my partner’s brother, my partner’s brother then sent it to my partner, my partner converted dollars to pounds and then sent them to me.

There is zero logic in this so I’m not surprised it is springing up money laundering flags.

Your solicitor isn’t being intrusive or unreasonable at all.

Downsize2021 · 04/09/2022 12:57

It's frustrating but better to get it all sorted. My dad had to help me fund my sale and they needed evidence that it was a gift. His bank statements. My bank statements. The pain wasnt so much them asking, but that they asked for each thing separately so i was constantly going to the bank (a long walk) then by the time I'd get home they have emailed asking for something else! I could probably walk to the bank with my eyes closed now! 😆

MajorCarolDanvers · 04/09/2022 12:58

Your solicitor isn't being nosey. They are complying with money laundering regs and this particular transaction will need to be checked and explained.

Hotandbothereds · 04/09/2022 12:59

Alexiaa · 04/09/2022 12:46

Thanks everyone for the replies?

So the question now is: will we need to get statements and gifting papers from the uncle, as well as his ID?

By the way, my partner's brother receives gifts from the uncle every year; during family birthdays, Christmas, Easter and so on. He's never had any problems or questions from anyone, his bank accounts were never blocked. The uncle is childless, so he believes it is good to be generous to his nephews and nieces. He has no illegal income, just pension, some disability payouts and savings.

You’ll need to provide whatever documentation your solicitor asks for.

What was the purpose of moving the money about like that? It’s completely unnecessary, why wasn’t it just transferred where if needed to be? No wonder this has raised questions, it’s odd.