By Ashley Young-
The Solicitors Regulator Authority have conducted a survey to show that access to law firm prices are more affordable than consumers generally believe.
A survey of 3,539 recent users of legal services found that just 10% believed solicitors to be an unaffordable option after accessing published information on price. The survey showed that consumers generally formed a different opinion about the affordability of solicitor prices after the transparency rules, having formerly believed solicitor fees were more expensive than suggested by publicly accessible figures.
The survey was commissioned by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, who were marking a year since its transparency requirements were fully implemented. Its aim is to keep consumers better informed.
The Legal Services Board do not adopt the view of price transparency, and has always held the view that it would result in lower prices.
The SRA research found that two-thirds of respondents said they actively shopped around online when looking for legal support, while three-quarters believed mandated information being published had helped them make good choices.
Influence
Researchers also found that consumers were not completely influenced by price because many directly engaged with legal providers in order to aid their decision. The carefully conducted survey found that 83% based their final decision on reputation, experience or recommendations.
‘We know that a lack of easy-to-find information about the services law firms offer and the cost of those services is part of the problem,’ SRA chief executive Paul Philip said. ‘So it is really encouraging to see that, although it is still early days, people and small businesses are looking at the information now available and finding it useful, particularly as they think about the type and costs of the service they need.’
Price And Service Information
Law firms have been forced to publish price and service information on their websites about certain services such as conveyancing for the past two years. Since last November they have also had to publish their complaints procedures and display the SRA clickable logo.
The research also concluded that 68% of firms are now publishing the required information on services and prices, with 90% claiming to be displaying the logo.
An online survey of 524 firms and 25 detailed interviews found 29% of providers would recommend publishing price and service information as being good for business. A similar proportion voluntarily publish prices on wider legal services not covered by the rules.
The publication of prices makes it difficult for dodgy solicitors to charge extortionate prices if their fees are open.