How ironic that the Office of Fair Trading appears from recent report on homebuying to be concerned about the effect of referral fees on the conveyancing market.

It was due to the threat of OFT proceedings against the Law Society that the Law Society Council was bounced into agreeing the introduction of referral fees.

On the only occasion I have attended the Law Society AGM at Chancery Lane, I spoke strongly against the introduction of referral fees. It had been suggested that a referendum of solicitors should be called but that it would cost £100,000. I did produce a £1 coin as my contribution towards the costs at the time. It is a shame that a profession-wide referendum was not held on the subject.

While, of course, referral fees may have been introduced in any event with a positive vote, we would have had a far more wide ranging debate and, more importantly, avoided the expensive fiasco of almost unenforceable regulation that we now have.

I wonder how much a referendum would cost now?

Peter J Fowler, Peter J Fowler Solicitors, Wimborne, Dorset