Land Registry trials 'quick phone call' to resolve queries

HM Land Registry is trialling a new way to resolve straightforward application queries – a quick phone call.

Land Registry says more than 3,500 applications every day contain missing, incomplete or wrongly drawn information. A caseworker assesses the matter and an information request, known as a ‘requisition’, may be sent out. A requisition can delay the completion of a simple application to update the register by two weeks.

Last week Land Registry began trialling telephone requisitions.

In a blog, customer policy executive Darren Standring said feedback showed customers ‘like a quick phone call’ to resolve a simple application issue. ‘We don’t currently have comprehensive information on how often they were used and how much time they saved for customers and for our caseworkers. The aim of the trial is to help us make evidence-driven decisions about the future of telephone requisitions,’ he said.

Older cases are being trialled. A caseworker will call a conveyancer. If the issue cannot be resolved over the phone, an information request will be made in writing in the usual way. Most requisitions are emailed to conveyancers.

The trial is being undertaken by a limited number of staff and will not cover all applications submitted during the month, so a conveyancer may receive a call about one application but not on another.

Telephone requisitions will be trialled for at least a month. ‘We will then take stock of what the trial has told us and make a decision on how to proceed. At this stage we are not necessarily committing to the reintroduction of telephone requisitions as we want to be sure that any long-term solution provides real support for our customers as well as bringing greater efficiency – and therefore speed – to our services,’ Standring said.