Legal Services Board looks into consumer decisions around legal advice
Consumers are likely to make quick, intuitive decisions when they are deciding on legal support, according to a recently published set of reports. The Legal Services Board has published three reports investigating consumers’ behaviour when deciding whether or not to seek legal advice. Two of the reports look at consumer decision making whilst the third […]
RPSA calls for more education surrounding property surveys for consumers
The Residential Property Surveyors Association (RPSA) recently hosted a conference where members saw presentations which covered key issues having an impact on the profession. Global Residential Director at RICS, Peter Bolton-King, spoke about the key findings from a recent RICS survey into property survey options and the lack of awareness from home buyers. According […]
Consumers expect house prices to rise
45% predict the average UK house price will rise in the next twelve months according to the latest Halifax Housing Market Confidence tracker. Only 12% felt prices were likely to decline. The survey revealed that the headline House Price Outlook balance (the difference between the proportion of people that expect house prices to rise rather than […]
The residential property survey – what consumers need to know and why the conveyancer has a vital role to play
The majority of us in the property profession will be aware of the importance of commissioning a survey when purchasing a property, along with the potential pitfalls associated with failing to uncover something, which could later turn out to be very costly to put right. However, it seems that this same level of knowledge and […]
SRA praised for consumer focus
A Legal Services Consumer Panel report has praised the SRA for making consumers’ lives easier when choosing legal services and understanding their rights. The report is entitled “Empowering Consumers Background Paper 2: learning from other sectors” and available here. Ten themes are used to measure success in the report, which measures policy across a number […]
Consumers expecting to be refused mortgages
The Building Societies Association’s (BSA) quarterly Property Tracker has shown that whilst the availability of mortgage finance has improved, consumers are still expecting to be refused finance. The survey of 2000 consumers showed that access to mortgage finance is one of the largest barriers to property purchase. However 46 per cent said it was a […]
Consumers expect flood investigation
A survey by Landmark Information Group has shown 55% of UK property owners expect flood risk investigation to be part of the conveyancing process. The survey revealed 80% of UK homeowners would not buy a house that had a flood risk. Despite it being such an important only 42% of people investigated their flood risk […]
Consumers favour building societies
A GfK NOP survey of 2,000 consumers has found that trust in building societies is far higher than banks across a number of categories. The number of people who feel building societies value them as a customer is 22% points higher than feel the same about banks. This is up from a gap of 15% […]
SRA commence consumer research
The SRA are looking at how the public access legal services and conducting a number of consumer visits around the country. The first of these saw the people of Llandudno canvassed for their views. The SRA was in North Wales last month to gauge the opinions of local people on the legal services market. The […]
SRA confirms consumer focus
The SRA have confirmed that clients’ needs are a vital part of the regulation process for solicitors. They drew attention to the Outcomes-Focused Regulation and in particular the re-written Solicitors Code of Conduct, as evidence of its commitment to consumers. Antony Townsend, SRA Chief Executive, said: "As we stressed when we launched outcomes-focused regulation, it […]
New research shows consumer confidence in legal profession
The Law Society has welcomed research by the Legal Service Board showing high consumer satisfaction in the legal profession. The research shows over 80% consumer satisfaction with the overall service provided by solicitors and other qualified lawyers. The research by the LSB also showed very high satisfaction rates with the outcomes of work done by […]
Co-operative Legal Services warn consumers of hidden legal charges in conveyancing quotes
Co-operative Legal Services have warned consumers that cheap conveyancing quotes may be too good to be true. They argue that it is very easy for consumers to find themselves buying what looks like a cheap conveyancing service when the price will actually end up being inflated by hidden charges. Part of the statement released […]
Legal Services Consumer Panel calls for increase in Legal Ombudsman’s compensation limit
The Legal Service Consumer Panel has issued its response to the Legal Ombudsman Consultation on its scheme rules and case fee structure. The Panel believes that the package of proposals being consulted on would help close redress gaps for consumers. The number of prospective customer complaints would be likely to increase as the jurisdiction […]
Legal Services Board finds consumer need for tailored internet support
The Legal Services Board has published its final report ‘Understanding consumer needs from legal information sources’. The report was commissioned to look at the types of information consumers would like to help them address the legal issues they face, and how the internet can provide support. The research found that consumer confidence around engaging with […]
Legal Services Consumer Panel urges Legal Ombudsman to accept cases from ‘third parties’
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has urged the Legal Ombudsman to accept cases from ‘third parties’, those individuals who are not the lawyer’s client. This is part of the Panel’s response to the Consultation by the Legal Ombudsman on its scheme rules. This includes proposals on third party complaints where there would be a […]
Consumer power starting to take grip in Legal Services market says YouGov Survey
A YouGov survey commissioned by the Legal Services Consumer Panel shows signs that consumer power is starting to take a grip in the legal services market. More consumers are shopping around and demanding fixed-fee deals. However, there has been a knock in confidence in the sector. This is the second year that the survey has […]
Winzest Consulting launches to provide extra support to legal firms to deliver better outcomes to consumers
Winzest Consulting has today announced the launch of its regulatory compliance consulting services to legal service providers. It will be led by Victor Olowe who was formerly Chief Executive of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC). Victor Olowe explains the thinking behind Winzest Consulting: “The launch of Winzest consulting is informed by the experiences […]
FSA secures interim injunctions and freezing orders to protect consumers from unauthorised land banking firms
On Tuesday, 20 December 2011, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) secured interim injunctions and freezing orders from the High Court against companies including St Clair Estates Limited, OFG Investments Limited, Option Land UK Limited, and GIG Properties Limited as it suspects these companies are running a land banking operation. The firms are believed to have […]
LSB Consumer Panel criticises aspects of the CQS – or fiddling whilst Rome burns.
The Legal Services Board Consumer panel last week issued a report into legal voluntary quality schemes assessing 13 schemes including the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. The CQS was launched in February to rebuild trust with lenders, insurers and consumers in the wake of unacceptably high levels of fraud and negligence in the conveyancing community. […]
Is consumer confidence returning?
The latest Building Society Association’s (BSA) Property Tracker survey has indicated that consumers are slightly more confident about the future of the housing market, with homebuyers indicating that falling house prices are less of a concern than job security or raising a deposit. The proportion of those surveyed who indicated that they thought now was […]