Research shows that firms offering fixed prices are ‘significantly cheaper’ than those working off fee estimates, the oversight regulator said today.
The Legal Services Board said its survey of more than 1,500 firms across England and Wales revealed the differences were most notable in conveyancing, wills, trusts and probate – although less pronounced in divorce matters. The poll was carried out last year.
Fixed fees are now predominant in conveyancing, offered by as many as three-quarters of firms. Less than a quarter of firms base their prices on estimates.
Where fixed fees were offered, the mean price charged for sale of a freehold property was £1,100, compared with £1,246 where firms had provided a costs estimate. Mean costs for a fixed fee sale of a leasehold property were £1,342, which rose to £1,488 where firms had relied on an estimate.
Where fixed fees were provided, 64% of firms said they very rarely or never ended up charging more (although 28% said this happened occasionally). When estimates had been provided, the costs were very rarely or never higher than predicted in 45% of cases, and occasionally higher in 48%.
In divorce, fixed fee mean prices were £795 but where estimates were provided the mean price was £1,181. The most complex divorces cost on average £4,376 when firms had offered a fixed fee and £6,713 where clients had been provided with an estimate.
Prices were significantly higher among firms based in a large town or city compared with those in villages or rural areas. There were no significant differences in prices between alternative business structures and those operating a traditional model.
As might be expected given the changes brought about by the pandemic, remote services are much more common in 2024 than in 2020, when the previous survey was conducted. Just 28% of firms providing conveyancing services require face-to-face contact with clients, compared with 48% in 2020. The rest were all content to deal with the matter remotely.
Almost three quarters (74%) of lawyers advising on divorces would now be prepared to offer their services remotely.
There were no significant differences in the mean prices charges by firms whether providing services remotely or face-to-face.
Unlike in conveyancing and divorce, face-to-face meetings were required by the majority of firms working in other areas of private law, although this too is starting to change. In 2020, just 15% of survey respondents said they would be prepared to work remotely on a standard will: by 2024 that proportion had risen to 42%. Similar increases in the use of remote services were reported in lasting power of attorney, assistance for obtaining grant of probate and estate administration.
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