Fresh Blow to the Campaign to Ban Referral Fees

A new blow has been dealth to supporters of a ban on solicitor referral fees after a new report for the Legal Services Board recommended that they be retained. The Legal Services Consumer Panels' report wanted increased transparency, regulation and more details on the nature of the referral fees, but deemed that they were perfectly legal and should not be banned.

The report stated that "Referral fees have their problems, but they can increase access to justice while not raising prices or reducing the quality of advice. So long as the issues identified in the panel’s report are successfully tackled, referral fees have their place in the legal services market."

The report has met opposition from numerous directions, with the Law Society being disappointed by the panel's findings, believeing that the fees create the possibility that cosumers and claimants will be dealt like commodities in future. Additionally Laurence Besemer, chief executive of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers, believes that the referral fees have a wider effect than the panel's findings display, stating that they effect not only a claimant in a compensation claim, but also businesses and insurance premiums of people who chose not to make claims.