Overview
Standalone financial screening helps identify whether a client has a history of County Court Judgments (CCJs), bankruptcies, or debt collection searches. These screenings do not affect a client's credit score and do not require the client's consent. However, you must inform clients that their data is being shared with Equifax, a credit reference agency.
You can run financial screening in two ways: as part of an Engage workflow, or as a standalone in-person CDD check. Both options can be used at any point in the client lifecycle to de-risk a transaction and ensure you have the full financial picture for your client.
Before you start
Before running a financial screening, make sure:
You have informed your client that their data will be shared with Equifax
You have the client's full name, date of birth, and UK address
Financial screening is only available for clients with UK addresses
ℹ️ Important
The first time you run an in-person financial screening, you will need to accept the terms of use. Contact your Legl account administrator if you are unsure about your firm's process.
When to use financial screening
Common examples include:
Before property transactions such as conveyancing
Before handling settlement transfers such as family law or private client matters
For business transactions such as screening Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs)
How to add financial screening to a workflow
Navigate to Engage → Workflows from the left-hand menu.
Select Create workflow, or open an existing workflow to edit it.
Select Add step and choose CDD Report.
Select Financial Screening from the available check options.
Select Submit workflow to save your changes.
When you send an Engage request using this workflow, the financial screening will run automatically once the client submits their details.
How to run a standalone financial screening
Go to Engage in Legl.
In the top-right corner, select Run in-person CDD.
From the list of check types, select Financial Screening.
If applicable, enter the matter reference.
Select the assigned reviewer and add any notes if needed.
Select Continue.
Enter the client's first name and surname.
Select Continue and complete the client's date of birth and UK address.
Select Submit to run the financial screening.
What data sources are included
County Court Judgments (CCJs): a judgment made by a court that someone owes an individual an amount of money. After the judgment is made, this will be on the person's credit record for 6 years, regardless of the time taken to pay.
Bankruptcy judgments: a type of County Court Judgment that also states the person is bankrupt. Once the person's assets have been cleared, no one can claim debt against them. This is particularly important for firms because it could indicate the client cannot pay their legal bills. It is also crucial if you act for lenders in a conveyancing transaction.
Debt collection searches: whether the client has had any credit checks made against them by a debt collection agency. This is considered an amber flag. It does not mean the client is in debt, but that they are being followed up on by an agency.
Suggested guidance
The suggested wording below is provided as a starting point. Your firm should review and adapt it to align with your own policies and regulatory requirements.
Suggested privacy policy wording
"As part of firmname client onboarding and due diligence process (the "Purpose"), firmname will collect personal data from you. In connection with the Purpose, you acknowledge and agree that your personal data will be disclosed to Equifax Limited, a credit reference agency ("CRA"). The CRA may keep a record of that information and provide it (and the fact that a search was made) to its other customers for the purposes of verifying identity, to assess credit risk and to prevent fraud, money laundering and to find debtors. For further information on how CRAs process your Personal Data, please refer to the CRA Information Notice."
Suggested client care wording
We use the services of Legl to provide secure digital identity verification, online payments, and to share key documents as part of our client onboarding process, in line with SRA regulation.
All information provided is securely processed by Legl using the highest security standards to encrypt your details and keep your personal data safe.
You can find Legl's Terms of Use here https://www.legl.com/terms-of-use and Privacy Policy here https://www.legl.com/privacy-policy.
You can find our terms here [LINK to your terms where the above language is included]
For further assistance, contact our Support team.
What happens next
Once the financial screening is complete, the results will appear in the CDD report for the assigned reviewer to assess.
Review the results alongside your other due diligence checks to build a full financial picture of your client.
You can run financial screening at any point in the client lifecycle to de-risk a transaction.
Important information
Financial screening is only available for clients with UK addresses.
Financial screening does not affect a client's credit score.
Client consent is not required, but you must inform clients that their data is being shared with Equifax.
Different firms will have different processes for completing client due diligence. This may be an opportunity to review your current process and provide enhanced information to your clients on data privacy.
If you are signing up prospective clients to privacy policies and terms before commencing work, you could consider adding the suggested wording below to your documents.