CMA investigates will-writing and other legal services
CMA launches new investigation to protect consumers following complaints about unregulated will-writing, online divorce, and pre-paid probate services
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is keen to hear about people’s experiences with firms offering these services, over concerns that not all are complying with consumer protection law.
When it comes to legal services, customers now have many alternatives to the conventional law firms on the high street, especially for services where the adviser does not need to be a solicitor. Alternative providers very often offer services that are innovative and convenient for consumers, and that can be cheaper too. But where they are unregulated, it becomes all the more important that normal consumer protection laws are complied with and, if necessary, enforced.
Initial research by the CMA has identified three main areas of concern involving potential risk to customers and possible breaches of consumer protection law:
- Will-writing - anyone can legally write a will and, although many are drafted by regulated lawyers, will-writing itself is not a regulated service. Concerns include:
- consumers being misled by advertising which offers an extremely low initial fee for advice but does not indicate that final costs can increase significantly
- the use of potentially unfair contract terms, such as exclusions of liability, failure to provide cancellation rights, and terms which automatically appoint the firm as executor (often for a fee)
- reports of pressure selling and coercion of vulnerable customers.
- Pre-paid probate plans - a new development in the market where customers pay set fees upfront for probate (which is the legal process of managing someone’s estate when they die). They do so in the hope that, following their death, their families will not be required to pay anything else. Concerns include:
- pressure selling techniques being used on elderly and other vulnerable people
- lack of transparency about what costs are covered
- plans that are unnecessary or fail to serve their purpose, leading to delays in the probate process and bereaved relatives being left unable to settle bills or sell property
- lack of customer awareness that their money may not be adequately protected, even if held in trust.
- Online divorce - these so-called ‘quickie’ divorce services have grown in popularity since the covid-19 lockdown. Concerns include:
- misleading claims about both the simplicity of the process and prices, which leave customers unclear about what they can be helped with or what they are paying for
- inadequate quality of service, including the firms using the wrong forms, entering incorrect details, sending papers to the court late, and not communicating efficiently with customers.
The CMA is also concerned that, if a company ceases to operate, there is a risk that customers’ money or important documents, such as their will, may be lost.
Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, said:
These services are essential to people, often at the most challenging times in their lives. The CMA is aware that rising living costs mean people are watching their spending, so shopping around for a more affordable option is attractive and sometimes a necessity.
These may not be frequent purchases, but they are life-changing. That’s why it’s so important that we investigate so that people can select the right legal service for them – for divorce or probate or will-writing – with confidence. It’s essential that firms get the basics right, including complying with general consumer law which applies to all traders. Customers must get a fair deal.
The CMA will now write to a number of firms that offer these services in order to seek further information about their practices. Any interested parties, like consumer advocates, professional bodies, trade associations or any consumers with experience of using someone who is not a solicitor to provide a will, online divorce service or pre-paid probate plan can send their responses to UnregulatedLegalServicesTeam@cma.gov.uk by 4 September 2023.
Further updates as part of this investigation will be published on the Unregulated Legal Services Case Page
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
- In England and Wales, only certain legal services (‘reserved legal activities’) are restricted to regulated legal services professionals (such as solicitors or chartered legal executives). Reserved legal activities is a defined term in the Legal Services Act 2007.
- In Scotland, certain legal services are restricted to professionals authorised to carry out those services based on the qualification they hold (such as solicitors, advocates and certain other professionals including commercial attorneys, notaries public and conveyancing practitioners). They are subject to statutory regulation: see Section 32 of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980.
- Similarly, in Northern Ireland, certain legal services are restricted to qualified persons such as solicitors: see Article 23 of the Solicitors (Northern Ireland) Order 1976.
- The laws relating to wills, probate and divorce also differ across the nations of the UK.
- For information on how the CMA uses its consumer powers to address problems in markets, look at our consumer protection enforcement guidance.
- The CMA’s toolkit includes consumer research, analysis, enforcement action, sector engagement to ensure businesses comply with consumer law, advocacy, partnership working with key stakeholders and consumer education.
- The family law market was valued at £1.6bn in 2017 and £1.9bn in 2021 – this was expected to grow by 4.5% in 2022 and by 5% in 2023. Source: Legal Futures
- The value of the wills, trusts and probate market was £2bn in 2021 and there are about 208,000 unregulated providers in England and Wales, many of them operating in the will-writing sector. Source: Legal Services Board . The Europe Economics Report into the Regulated and Unregulated Legal Services Market in Scotland (2018) found there is limited information on the size of the unauthorised sector in Scotland.
- For media enquiries, contact the CMA press office on 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk