Your anonymous correspondent who bemoans the present state of conveyancing hankers for an age that is fast disappearing and rightly so (see [2009] Gazette, 5 February, 9).

All the public want is to have houses transferred as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Far too many members of the profession think their obsession with the minutiae of planning permissions, pointless searches and unnecessary queries, about everything from when the dustmen call to whether there is a satellite dish fitted, are necessary and for the benefit of the clients who appreciate all that is done. The majority don’t. They think we are slow, out of touch, self-serving and make simple matters unnecessarily complex. And they are probably right.

We have made conveyancing the disorganised mess it is and only have ourselves to blame. When it comes down to it, most registered conveyancing transactions merely involve the changing of the names of the owners of a property at the Land Registry and the registration of any mortgage. The sooner we realise that and adjust our work practices accordingly, the better. If we don’t, more and more of the work will go to the ‘farms’ about which your correspondent is so disparaging.

Ian McLachlan, Solicitor, Redditch, Worcestershire