Approved CLC price and service transparency reforms proposal to empower consumers

Approved CLC price and service transparency reforms proposal to empower consumers

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has had its reform proposal approved by the Legal Services Board (LSB)

Similarly, to the reforms made by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA), the CLC aimed to empower consumers by requiring firms to clearly state their prices and the services a firm will offer for the prices they charge. Consumer awareness of price, service and timescales, the CLC claim, will enable consumers to make greater choices when instructing a firm.

Sheila Kumar, Chief Executive of the CLC, said: “We are pleased that the LSB has approved our rule changes which come into force in December 2018. We can now move ahead with the changes to make sure consumers will have access to additional and clearer information to help them make an informed choice when deciding which lawyer to use.

“From September we will be providing support to our licensed community to implement the changes and we will encourage firms to look at our guidance on implementation.”

CLC reforms also demand that members make cost information, including referral arrangements, transparent and available on all formats on request.

The CLC will publish guidance for firms to use. Additionally, the CLC will be offering cost estimate templates. This will allow quotes to be detailed and comparable with other firms in the CLC.

With the summer month of August in its final fleeting hours, legal firms will be looking to the dark winter days of increased work.

This autumn is going to be a busy time for Conveyancers. Not only will the sleepy holiday period in the housing market be coming to an autumnal end, but legal service providers will need to ensure they have adopted and adhered to reforms.

How will these changes affect Conveyancers? Are you worried that changes will lead to additional pressures and workload?

Martin Parrin

Martin is a Senior Content Writer for Today’s Conveyancer, Today’s Wills and Probate, Today’s Legal Cyber Risk and Today's Family Lawyer Having qualified as a teacher, Martin previously worked as a Secondary English Teacher that responsible for Head of Communications. After recently returning to the North West from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, Martin has left teaching to start a career in writing and pursue his lifelong passion with the written word.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *