Firms offer­ing ​“quick­ie” divorces and will writ­ing are to be inves­ti­gat­ed by the UK’s com­pe­ti­tion watchdog.

The Com­pe­ti­tion and Mar­kets Author­i­ty (CMA) said it would exam­ine claims made by online divorce ser­vices, which have become more pop­u­lar since lock­down. Some vul­ner­a­ble cus­tomers had also con­tact­ed it after being pres­sured into sign­ing up for will-writ­ing services.

The CMA said there were now many alter­na­tives to law firms, espe­cial­ly where the advis­er is not a solicitor.

It said these alter­na­tives to con­ven­tion­al law firms can be more con­ve­nient and cheap­er, but ​“where they are unreg­u­lat­ed, it becomes all the more impor­tant that nor­mal con­sumer pro­tec­tion laws are com­plied with and, if nec­es­sary, enforced”.

What does this mean?

It high­lights the impor­tance of con­sid­er­ing ser­vice provider cre­den­tials as opposed to sole­ly choos­ing a ser­vice on cost.

It is also impor­tant to con­sid­er that not all Wills are the same.

The key things to consider;

  1. Is the ser­vice provider regulated?

  2. What qual­i­fi­ca­tions or cre­den­tials does the ser­vice provider or per­son have?

  3. Does the ser­vice provider car­ry pro­fes­sion­al indem­ni­ty insur­ance in case there is a mis­take made?

If you are in any way unsure, it’s best to err on the side of caution.

To arrange a dis­cus­sion about Wills, please get in touch with Rick Bar­row on 01625 523988 or mail@​jbgass.​com