I weep and I gnash my teeth, not easy when I am missing most of them. What is the reason for the frustration I feel? The Gazette's letters page being full of conveyancing practitioners bemoaning home information packs, e-conveyancing, government intervention, supermarket take-overs, and so on.


I may no longer be in the UK conveyancing market, but I was, and in a big way, involved in developing with the (then) Department of Trade & Industry the ways to improve matters. Remember that, a decade ago, it was an established fact that we had the slowest conveyancing system anywhere. Twelve weeks to exchange was pretty much average, 35% of transactions fell through and we, as a profession, had spent the previous seven years cutting each other's throats in a price war brought on by a lack of new case numbers.



A global inspection of other systems took place. Who did it better and how? I went to Australia, Canada, the US, Scotland and Denmark. The Danes had the best system. There, a pack of information, including reports and a choice of mortgage offers, was handed to a prospective buyer. The result was an exchange of contracts in seven days, a zero fall-off rate and the loss of conveyancing to the legal profession. Why? Because lawyers were scared of the change and instead of leading it, fought against it.



Here, the same thing occurred. Instead of leading the change, we huffed and puffed and cited excuses like 'We are already cheap, so what more can we do?'. The conveyancers did not listen then and are not listening now.



It may not be too late, although I suspect it is, to take the lead in the industry called conveyancing. Remember, we had the trust of the public and we know what happened in Denmark. Learn from the past. React if you want to retain any part of conveyancing. And, for goodness sake, stop moaning.



Brian Marson, Spain