HSBC is reported to have dramatically cut back on the number of solicitor firms who may act for both the organisation and the buyer, while at the same time stating that it has launched a conveyancing panel to protect borrowers against mortgage fraud.

However, will they really have the desired effect and cut down on this type of fraud? One critic, Rob Hailstone, founder of the Bold Group, says that while the bank s legal panel may have the right intentions, the changes will mean more delays for those trying to get their mortgages sorted quickly rather than less. He also says that they show a lack of understanding of the conveyancing process.

While he says that it would restrict choice, should the buyer insist on their own solicitor, who was not on the list of 40 plus firms, they would still be able to but at an extra cost while it may also add to delays. So, it could be argued that, in conveyancing, both the exchange of contracts and the completion may have more delays in the future, while it could also increase the risk of more aborted transactions.

While they are aimed at reducing money laundering or mortgage fraud, Hailstone argues that he can t see how the changes can help in this regard and he sees this new regime as badly conceived, badly put together and badly implemented . Do you agree with Hailstone or do you think it could have a significant impact on reducing mortgage fraud? Tell us what you think, especially if you work in conveyancing. We want to hear from you on this and other possible ways at tackling this problem.

Spurs fans, and also possibly England fans, will be celebrating the news that Harry Redknapp walked free from London s Southwark Crown Court after one of the most well-publicised fraud trials of recent times.

The Spurs manager was acquitted along with his co-defendant Milan Mandaric of tax fraud after a five-year police investigation which is thought to have cost about 8m. It also emerged that Mandaric had also been cleared, along with former Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie of separate 600,000 tax fraud charges in a previous trial.

The jury accepted Redknapp s repeated denials that he had avoided paying tax on any payments over 189,000 found in a Monaco account and that that account, named after his dog Rosie, had nothing to do with footballing matters. He was manager of Portsmouth at the time.

The investigation began in 2006 and HMRC took a lead role when possible offences relating to tax came to light. The prosecution claimed that cash in the Monaco account had been deliberately and dishonestly concealed with the intention to avoid paying tax. However, the jury disagreed and Redknapp is free to continue managing Spurs, or possibly England!

Many of us have Nectar loyalty cards, so when we hear of potential cases of fraud involving the cards, it reinforces the need to be on our guard against it happening to us.

There were two victims who used a Sainsbury s store in Chippenham last December. In the first, a woman used her nectar card while paying for petrol at the store s petrol station when the card had 200 worth of points on it, then a week later another customer bought fuel, this time with 125 worth of points on her card. However, when both women tried to redeem their points when Christmas shopping later in the month, they found that there were no points left on the cards. Police believe that the cards were swapped and replaced with blank ones.

Police are asking people who use the store to carefully check their Nectar cards to ensure they still have the points on when they leave. They have also released CCTV footage of a man they wish to question about the incidents.

This crime may be concentrated around Chippenham, but fraud of this type could occur anywhere in the country, so always check your Nectar card to ensure you still have points on it. Anyone with experience of this type of consumer fraud, we d be very keen to hear from you.