Why taking any cashback and control beats free legals every time – Singh

In that context, it’s clearly important that clients are guided through the whole process, and that this does not begin and end with the remortgage offer. Within this, one of the major decisions is whether to accept a lender’s ‘free legal’ offering or, if it is on offer, take the cashback and appoint a trusted conveyancing firm themselves, or simply opt for the latter decision because it makes most sense. 

Now, on paper, free legals might look appealing. They’re marketed as simple, no-fuss, and no-cost. But the reality is very different. Free legal services exist to protect the lender’s interests, not the client’s.

In fact, as we all know, the client isn’t being represented at all. 

They won’t get to choose the legal firm. They won’t know who’ll be looking after them. They won’t be able to hold anyone to account when service drops off a cliff, apart from perhaps the adviser who didn’t suggest another option. And worst of all, they have no way of knowing how long the process will take.

Each year, a number of remortgage cases fail to complete within the desired time frame through the free legals route. And in some cases, the client can lose the mortgage product they were expecting to get and end up with a more expensive deal. That’s not just frustrating, that’s a poor outcome. 

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Advisers steering clients in a better direction 

This is where advisers can make a real difference. If the lender is offering cashback – even as little as £250 – that money can be used to appoint a conveyancer via a trusted platform like ours. 

A platform or option that gives the broker control, the client clarity, and delivers an all-inclusive service where the price quoted is the price paid. No surprises, no telegraphic transfer (TT) fees bolted on at the end, and no chasing a faceless legal department you’ve never heard of. 

And the great thing is advisers already know this. Our data shows around 40% of our conveyancing instructions in H1 2025 were remortgage cases. More than that, in every pricing band we offer, around 60% of advisers are opting for the all-inclusive version of our product, which covers everything – including the TT fee, all ID fees and a free client portal. 

In other words, they’re happy to earn slightly less in order to make the legal fees fairer for their client. That’s the kind of behaviour Consumer Duty is meant to encourage and it’s happening in real time. 

The client experience counts 

Let’s not pretend advisers don’t care about income. But what we’re seeing is that they truly care more about client experience. They want transactions that complete quickly. They want clients who aren’t confused or frustrated midway through.

They want fee transparency. They want control, because when they control the process, they can step in early, resolve issues, and keep everything moving. 

And there are two very practical advantages to that. Firstly, they get paid quicker. The faster the case completes, the faster the procuration fee lands. Secondly, happy clients come back. They recommend you to friends. They leave positive reviews. And they remember who helped them avoid a stressful legal process. 

The backdrop to all of this is a market that’s only going to get busier.

According to the Bank of England’s Q1 2025 statistics, remortgaging accounted for 34.8% of gross advances on owner-occupied mortgages – the highest proportion since Q2 2020. The market is shifting towards product transfers and remortgage switching at scale. That means more clients could be weighing up cashback versus free legals. And advisers will be the ones guiding them. 

Lenders understand the need for choice too. They often offer a cashback option alongside every free legals product. Nationwide currently offers a fantastic £500 cashback. It’s no surprise that nearly a quarter of our remortgage conveyancing cases from brokers were with Nationwide. The £500 covers all client legal costs and rewards the broker with a valuable referral fee. 

So let’s call this what it is: a chance to do things better. To offer clients true legal representation, transparency, choice, and a smoother experience. To stop accepting the ‘free’ route when it could cost the client more in time, stress, or potentially product loss. 

We know advisers are realists. They’ve seen the impact of free legals on their clients, their cases, and their income. And they’ve made a choice: cashback, when it’s on offer, and control beat ‘free’ and potential frustration every single time. 

Because ultimately, a better client outcome is a better business outcome. And that’s not just a Consumer Duty, that’s common sense for all.