The Competition and Markets Authority has published compliance guidance for unregulated providers of will writing, online divorce and pre-paid probate services.
The purpose of this compliance guidance is to help unregulated businesses providing will writing, online divorce and pre-paid probate services to understand and comply with their existing obligations under consumer protection law.
The guidance sets out the CMA’s view on the key requirements of consumer law which all businesses, including unregulated providers of legal services, must comply with.
In the specific context of will writing, online divorce, and pre-paid probate services, consumers are often making purchasing decisions in challenging circumstances, and those decisions are likely to have important and long-lasting consequences. The guidance sets out the CMA’s views on the most important consumer protection law requirements which apply to unregulated providers of these services.
The guidance also provides practical ‘do and don’t’ checklists and case study examples, specifically in relation to the provision of will writing and online divorce services. There is also a chapter setting out the CMA’s views on pre-paid probate schemes.
While the compliance guidance is designed to help businesses, it is not legal advice. Responsibility for complying with the law remains with businesses themselves. Hayley Fletcher, CMA’s Interim Senior Director for Consumer Protection, said:
“Alternatives to conventional high street law firms can offer convenient services for people – and when day-to-day budgets are already under pressure, they can be a more cost-effective option.
Those offering these types of legal services often meet their customers at some of the most challenging times in life, so it’s particularly important that a difficult time is not made harder by misleading or unfair practices.
Our new guides will help empower consumers to ask businesses the right questions before they buy and give businesses an opportunity to get their house in order.
To ensure they comply with the law, we expect businesses in the sector to read the new guidance and make the necessary changes to their terms and practices. Those who don’t could face enforcement action.”
Sarah Manuel, Head of Professional Standards at STEP, said:
“We are pleased that the CMA has taken steps to protect consumers from poor practice within the will writing and legal service industry. We fully support their efforts to caution unregulated providers and introduce stronger enforcement powers. We also welcome advice to the public about what to consider when buying will writing services.
Anyone can set themselves up as a will writer and bad advice can cause significant distress, leaving grieving families to deal with the financial and emotional consequences. We hear all too often from the public and our members about the financial and emotional impact of poor advice from dishonest, unqualified and incompetent will writers.
In a survey of our members last year, 79% had come across wills with errors and 54% were aware of other firms making false claims, such as avoiding care home fees. We remain committed to ensuring that those drafting wills are appropriately qualified. STEP sets standards for our members who write wills, trusts and similar legal paperwork through our qualifications, Will Code and other tools.
We will continue to work with the CMA and other partners to help protect people from poor advice when they are often at their most vulnerable. We will also continue to push for regulation of the will writing industry alongside the provision of high-quality training and greater recognition of specialist will qualifications.”
Alongside the new guidance, the CMA has also published the following documents:
- a summary of consultation responses
- an open letter to unregulated businesses operating in these sectors; and
- guides for consumers on what to consider when choosing a will writer and choosing a divorce service provider
