The Legal Services Consumer Panel has called for greater disclosure and regulation of referral fees.
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has called for greater disclosure and regulation of referral fees.
The panel, which provides independent advice to the Legal Services Board (LSB), claims that closed bids and auctions mean that work is referred to lawyers paying the highest fees, and that estate agents and insurers use pressure selling tactics on clients to accept recommended lawyers.
However, the panel did not find that client satisfaction or consumer cost suffered as a result of referral fees.
Dianne Hayter, chairman of the panel, says: “Greater transparency, combined with tough action against rule-breakers, is needed to ensure that referral fees work in the interests of consumers.”
For more on referral fees, see Comment, p 745.
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