Our standards for law firms and partners

Regulated and insured law firms

Every law firm on our panel (the firms we introduce clients to) is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) or CILEx Regulation, or, in Northern Ireland, by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. These regulators set the rules on how firms treat clients, look after client money and deal with complaints, and they can take action when a firm falls short.

Each firm must also hold the professional indemnity insurance its regulator requires. This is insurance that protects clients if a firm makes a mistake that costs them money. We check a firm's regulatory details before it joins, and we agree our terms with it in writing before it receives any introductions.

Keyfolio is not a law firm. We do not give legal advice, carry out legal work or hold client money. The firm you instruct does all of the legal work under its own terms, which it sets out in a client care letter.

Matching your matter to the right firm

When you ask to go ahead, we look for a firm that suits your matter. We take into account:

• The type of work, for example a leasehold flat, a new build or a remortgage.
• Where the property is, because each firm chooses the regions it covers.
• Your mortgage lender's or finance provider's panel: the list of conveyancers it allows to act for it.
• The firm's capacity, meaning how many new matters it can take on without delay. Where more than one firm on our panel could act for you, your quote page names the firm we would introduce you to, and you can choose another from a list of those that could act, each with its price for your quote and what it pays us. Where it can act for you, the firm we would introduce you to is our recommended law firm, at present Ackroyd Legal. Your quote page names it first, with the reasons to choose it that are true of it for your quote and set it apart from the other firms that could act. You can choose any of them instead, each at its own price: recommending a firm changes no one's fees.

The firm then has a set time to accept or decline the introduction. If it declines, or does not reply in time, we offer your matter to another suitable firm. A firm that has declined is not offered the same referral again.

Keeping an eye on performance

Once a firm accepts you, it deals with you directly, but we keep an eye on every firm on our panel. We track how quickly firms accept introductions and see the stages each matter reaches, such as exchange of contracts (the point where the deal becomes legally binding) and completion (when the money is paid and the keys are handed over), and we pay close attention to what clients tell us about their experience.

We also review complaints. If a firm falls short, we raise it with them, and we can reduce or stop the introductions we send.

Referral fees in the open

Law firms on our panel pay Keyfolio under written agreements. A firm's referral fee is for each matter, paid only when the matter completes, not when the client is referred, so no referral fee is paid for a matter that does not complete. You do not pay us anything directly: the firm pays out of the fees it charges, so it is not an extra item on your bill.

We tell you about the arrangement before you ask to go ahead, and before you instruct a firm we tell you its name and what it pays us for your matter. If an estate agent, mortgage broker or other partner introduced you to us, we may pay them a fee when your matter goes ahead, and your quote tells you when that applies.

Every partner agrees its terms with us in writing before it refers anyone. Our referral disclosure explains these arrangements in full.

Your choice, with no obligation

Getting a quote does not commit you to anything. You can keep the link to your quote, come back to it later, ask us questions by message or simply decide not to go ahead.

If you do go ahead, you are still free to choose any conveyancer you like, including one that is not on our panel. An introduction is not an instruction: a firm only acts for you once it has confirmed it can take on your matter and you have accepted its terms.

Clear quotes, confirmed in writing

Your quote is worked out from the answers you give us. It separates the legal fee, VAT, disbursements (third-party costs such as searches and HM Land Registry fees) and an estimate of property tax, and it marks anything that cannot be known yet as "To be confirmed".

The law firm reviews your matter and confirms its fees in writing, in its client care letter, before you instruct it. If the work turns out to be different from what was described, for example a home you thought was freehold is leasehold, the firm should explain any change in cost before it does the extra work.

Protecting your information

Your quote is reached through a private link, so please keep it to yourself. Everything you send us travels over encrypted connections, and our staff sign in with two-step verification: a code or prompt on a second device as well as a password.

We share your details with the law firm handling your matter. If a partner introduced you, they hear whether your matter goes ahead and completes, and your law firm's updates on it only if you agree. Partners never see the confidential legal file. Our privacy notice explains what we collect and your rights.

Property fraud often starts with a fake email about bank details. Keyfolio never holds client money, so we will never ask you to send money for your property to us. Before you send money to anyone, call your law firm on a number you already know and confirm its bank details.

If something goes wrong

If you are unhappy with our service, please tell us through our complaints process. We will look into it and reply to you in writing.

Complaints about the legal work go to the law firm first, using the complaints procedure in its client care letter. For a firm in England or Wales, if it has not resolved your complaint within eight weeks, or you are unhappy with its final response, you may be able to take it to the Legal Ombudsman. For a solicitor in Northern Ireland, the Solicitors Complaints Committee deals with complaints the firm has not resolved. Please let us know as well, because it helps us decide which firms we work with.