The Council for Licensed Conveyancers says it is “extremely disappointed” with the “inaccurate representation” levelled at it by the Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP) in a position paper released this week.
The CLC was singled out for criticism in a scathing report that called for the Legal Services Board and Ministry of Justice to take immediate action to replace the current system of eight legal regulators with a single independent body.
Highlighting the CLC’s handling of conditional selling and referral fees exposed in a BBC Panorama investigation into estate agents, the LSCP said the regulator should have taken action to halt the practices instead of waiting for a television programme.
But Sheila Kumar, CEO of the CLC, has highlighted inaccuracies in the LSCP’s report and defended the regulator’s response.
“First of all, last year’s BBC Panorama investigation highlighted wrongdoing by unregulated estate agents, not by conveyancers,” she pointed out.
“Nevertheless, the CLC took the decision that it would again look at this topic in the context of its mandate, the regulation of conveyancers, to see if anything more could be done to improve the situation of consumers in the absence of regulation of estate agents.
“It is perhaps notable that we were the only regulator of conveyancing to do this. Responding to market intelligence is the sign of a proactive regulator with a resolute focus on acting in the public interest and the capability and resources to do so. It is worrying that the panel misread this so badly.
“We continue to press for the regulation of estate agents on this and wider consumer protection grounds, and in the meantime have identified areas where we can strengthen transparency and consumer protections in our code.
“The panel also talks about our ‘active recruitment of regulated firms’. Our conveyancing and probate firms benefit from the CLC’s focused regulation and the high standards we set for entry for both individuals and practices. This means CLC regulation is good for consumers and good for lawyers.
“The Legal Services Act was designed to give both a choice and the CLC is simply demonstrating that it is a good choice to make. Our specialism is why we are one of the key organisations leading the work on home-buying reform, ensuring it works for the public and those who advise them.”
The CLC is currently gathering evidence to inform its recommendations following the publication of a thematic review in the practice of referral fees.
Speaking during a webinar to launch the interim report into the use of the fees, CLC director of strategy and external relations Stephen Ward said: “Given the strength of feeling we have encountered in our research, and the diverse opinions held by stakeholders, we feel it is important to take a sounding on our interim findings and recommendations, invite any evidence not already shared with us, and provide further opportunity for discussion with the sector having had the benefit of seeing the interim report.”
