Am I the only conveyancing solicitor who objects to receiving long questionnaires from buyers' solicitors? Sometimes they arrive even before I have sent out my contract package.

Usually, some of the questions raised are covered by answers already given in the seller's property information form (SPIF); frequently, some of the questions are just plain daft and could be answered by looking at the agent's particulars; invariably, no attempt is made to prune the list to fit the particular property. I generally send the whole lot back and say that I will reconsider them if I am assured that thought has been applied before they are returned to me, an approach which I concede has not met with universal acclaim.


I thought the protocol was supposed to have done away with all this. I accept that some questions can (and often should) be asked over and above those in the SPIF, but they do not include such gems as: 'does the property have central heating?' and 'has the central heating system been purchased on HP?'.


Why are these questionnaires still being sent out?



Simon Quilley, Paytons, Malvern, Worcestershire