Conveyancers not subject to outright ban
Licensed conveyancers will not be subjected to an outright ban on referral fees, but must comply with new transparency conditions.
The Legal Services Board (LSB) last week granted an application by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) to alter the rules on referral fees in conveyancing.
The CLC identified the biggest threat to consumers as the level of information given to them about referral fees, and the timing of that information, in a review and consultation exercise carried out earlier this year. It has now altered its Disclosure of Profits and Advantages Code.
Conveyancers have three months to comply with the new arrangements, which provide that: agreements with third-party referrers should be in writing and subject to periodic review; clients should be informed in writing of the arrangement’s existence no later than when accepting instructions, or when introducing a client to another person; clients should be advised they have a choice of provider; and the client should be informed of the nature of the arrangement, including any payment made, with whom it is made, and any impact, including any legal costs they are charged.
Anna Bradley, CLC chair, said: “Our review of referral fees in conveyancing found no evidence of consumer detriment—an assessment shared by the LSB and Legal Services Consumer Panel following their own past research.”
In 2011, The LSB published a report on referral fees in the conveyancing, personal injury and criminal advocacy markets. In April 2013, referral fees were banned for personal injury cases.
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