Conveyancing Referral Fees
You may or may not be aware that a lot of Conveyancing legal firms pay referral fees to estate agents. In exchange for this estate agents refer Conveyancing work to them.
Typically a legal firm will pay between £40 – £200 per transaction to an estate agent, who will then refer the clients to them.
There are two main issues with this.
- The first is that the estate agents may not refer the clients to a particular firm based on that firm’s reputation but based solely on the fact that they are being paid a referral fee. In addition the client may not always be advised that a referral fee is being paid in respect of their matter and therefore may not be aware that the solicitors are effectively paying for their work, and will believe that the reason they are being referred to that practice is because they are good.
- Secondly the client also needs to be careful that they are not being charged for any referral fees by way of increased legal fees, again this is not always disclosed when applying for costs.
Adams Harrison do not pay referral fees. We pride ourselves on the fact that much of our work is repeat business from satisfied clients, or that a client has come to us having been referred to us by a member of their family, or a friend, who has used Adams Harrison for legal services in the past. See our testimonials on the website.
If a referral fee is being paid by the estate agents to your legal advisor then your legal advisor should advise you of this fact and seek your consent to the same. You need to think carefully whether you would wish to instruct a firm that has to pay for it’s work rather than relying on its reputation.
Tracy Spilsbury
Head of Residential Conveyancing
