Search Code reaches 100th subscriber as lenders increasingly recognise this vital mark of quality
3 August 2012
The Search Code has reached its 100th subscriber, marking an important milestone in cementing the Code as the quality benchmark for the private sector search industry.
Lenders, conveyancers and their clients, all relying on private sector searches can be confident that if they carry the Code logo the products have been produced by a regulated and quality provider.
Since the Search Code was first launched in 2006, the Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO), which owns the Code and the Property Codes Compliance Board (PCCB), the Code’s regulator, have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the importance the Code among both the lending and the conveyancing communities. Over recent years, the number of subscribers to the Code has steadily increased.
As more lenders make it a requirement that any private searches commissioned on their behalf are produced only by Code compliant subscribers, private search companies have become increasingly aware of the importance of subscribing to the Code.
Renaissance Environmental Ltd, the Code’s 100th subscriber, was first made aware of the Search Code by a fellow search provider and Code subscriber. After conducting some of their own research, Renaissance decided to apply to subscribe so that they could benefit from the additional credibility that the Code delivers.
Magnus Willatts, Director of Renaissance Environmental Ltd said: “We made the decision to join the Search Code to enhance our respected position within the sector and add an extra level of credibility for our customer’s reassurance. We felt that the Search Code represented an important mark of quality and that the regulator stood out as an organisation that signifies integrity and high standards within the industry. We will be including the Code logo on all our reports as soon as possible to publicise our successful membership.”
James Sherwood-Rogers, Chairman of CoPSO said: “Awareness of the Search Code as the recognised symbol of quality across the search industry continues to grow. A big focus for us over the next year is to encourage even more lenders to make it a mandatory requirement that any conveyancer they instruct, must only commission and accept private sector search reports from Search Code subscribers. As this campaign gains momentum and we see more lenders follow suit, we expect to see the number of firms subscribing to the Code continue to grow.”
Andrew McIlwraith, Chairman of the PCCB, added: “We are very pleased to welcome Renaissance as our 100th subscriber. It is important that everyone who relies on the information in a private search report can be totally confident that the report they have been provided with is from a trusted and reliable source. It is our role at the PCCB to ensure that every subscriber to the Code can provide us with evidence that they continually meet the strict criteria set out by the Code – a role we take very seriously. As the number of subscribers continues to grow, this provides evidence that the private search industry is committed to offering the highest level of product and service."
The Search Code offers reassurance to all those that rely on the information provided in property search reports that the searches they commission will be conducted in a professional and timely manner by a fully regulated and trusted provider.
The Code offers protection by helping to reduce the circulation of fraudulent search reports and by ensuring that the necessary insurances are in place, should an issue arise at a later date.
The Code sets out minimum standards, which organisations compiling and selling search reports have to meet. All subscribers to the Code are listed on a register of subscribing firms, maintained by the PCCB and all display the trusted Search Code logo prominently on all search reports they produce.
Follow the CoPSO Chairman on James Sherwood-Rogers on twitter: @JamesS_R
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