Thanks for your comment. I have delved deeper with my solicitor, who didn't know herself why it was so expensive. It now seems they offer a more in depth search and report for £75, but it does'nt sound like money well spent to me. Help received from you and other members has put me on the right track. Willowwood.

Thank you very much for your reply. I think we are unlucky in having a Solicitor who sees this as a profit-making opportunity, as she would charge £75 for the check. I enquired by e-mail direct to ChancelCheck and this is the reply I got: "Unfortunately due to company policy and FSA regulations we have to comply with, we are unable to register private individuals. Please contact your solicitor and ask her to order the relevant policy on your behalf; the document can then be passed to you once the order process is complete. I have attached a copy of our standard ChancelSure insurance premiums for your perusal. My apologies we cannot be of assistance to you directly but I thank you for your interest in our services." For us it's cheaper to just buy the insurance via our Solicitor whether we need it or not - assuming she doesn't expect to make a profit of similar proportions to that she makes from the checks. Good luck with your own property purchase. Willowwood.

Can anyone help with this one - we are buying a half-acre property close to an ancient church in rural Suffolk. Our Solicitor has offered to do a Chancel Repair charge search, costing £75. This is more than the minimum cost of a 25 year insurance policy, so it seems sensible just to buy the policy and not worry about whether the property is actually subject to the charge or not. However, the specialists who offer searches and insurance, such as Chancel Check, will not deal directly with individuals, only through Solicitors and other professionals. The local office of our current insurers, NFU Mutual, say they have never heard of this issue. Does anyone have advice on how to deal with this problem economically?