“Tesco Law” Conveyancing

Posted by John on March 28, 2011 under Choosing a Solicitor | Comments are off for this article

It’s been dubbed “Tesco Law”. From 6 October 2011 supermarkets will be able to offer customers legal services such as conveyancing, in direct competition to the country’s 112,000 solicitors.

The reforms were made possible by the Legal Services Act 2007, and already the Co-Operative has begun promoting conveyancing, employment law and personal injury services.

But what does this mean for customers? Will it be the same service at supermarket prices or will it be a case of “you get what you pay for?”

The reality is that to a large extent this process has been going on for some years when it comes to conveyancing. Online conveyancing solicitors with lower overheads and greater economies of scale have been undercutting High Street solicitors by an impressive average of £850 on a typical sale and purchase.

So “Tesco Law” looks like it will accelerate a trend that has been going on for some time. In fact, as far back as 1996 the Law Society (reminiscent of old school 1970s militant union “restrictive practices”) was trying to find a backdoor way of banning low cost conveyancing (see this article from the Independent).

The Law Society have since changed their tune on the matter and now say that the “Tesco Law” reforms will be good for clients. So are they right?

The answer is well, “it depends”. There are some very good low priced online conveyancing solicitors. And some who are best avoided. The trick is to make sure the one you choose ticks the right boxes:

1. Avoid firms quoting ridiculously low “too good to be true” fee rates – they always pad them out with lots of hidden extras and don’t include VAT. Instead, choose a firm that offers a genuine “fixed fee” quote that is fully itemised so you know exactly what you’ll pay in advance.

2. Look at customer feedback. Find a website that allows customers to give feedback directly, so that it’s not filtered by the solicitors themselves. That way you can find out what people really think – the good and the bad – and make a fully informed decision.

To compare instant quotes from genuine “fixed fee” conveyancing solicitors and to see real customer feedback click here: conveyancing.