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Convenient Wills, 16 Thomas Avenue, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire  ST5 9AF                                                                                                   Proprietor: Rod Jones

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Convenient Wills

•  home-visit will-writing service  •

•  bespoke wills at ‘value for money’ prices •

•  daytime and evening appointments  •

Call: Stoke-on-Trent

(01782) 639716  

Lasting Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, Home visit will writing Service, Daytime and evening appointments, Low prices

’Panorama’  and ‘Wills, the final RIP off’

And BBC Radio Stoke’s Breakfast program

with Pete Morgan

 

Panorama Program shown on Monday 9th August 2010 at 8.30 p.m.

 

The BBC’s investigative program, ‘Panorama’ reported on (perhaps that should read ‘exposed’):

 

  • 2 cases of ‘baiting’, whereby initial low prices are used to attract the customer, and then additional and very profitable services are sold on top that substantially increase the total cost of the will.

 

  • 1 company who misplaced their clients’ wills that were held in storage, and completely messed up Probate;

 

  • 1 company who sold unclear services for a substantial cost (but if you actually read the terms and conditions the information was there; it was shown on the program); and

 

  • 1 business where the owners were fraudsters, and convicted of such.

 

The program’s makers indicated that will writers should be regulated because of the abuse.

 

 

 

Observations:

 

While people should not be disadvantaged by others (and we feel for those that were), the program found just 4 examples of failings;  not exactly an indication of widespread abuse within the will writing sector.

 

 

Comment:

 

Like ourselves, many will writers do not approve of the ‘up-front payment’ of Probate fees.  Only a few companies actually offer such a service.  It is our opinion that this practise should be regulated by the FSA; it is after all a form of long term investment.

 

‘Baiting’ is common, and done mainly by national will-writing firms, solicitors and High Street banks -- who can reduce the initial price of their wills because they will reap their financial rewards when undertaking Probate duties.  The small will writing businesses, like ourselves Convenient Wills, do not use ‘too good to be true’ prices to bait potential clients; we do not offer an in-house ‘executor service’.   

 

Our aim, like many other home-visit will-writing service, is to create legally valid, bespoke legal documents and save our clients’ money by providing practical solutions to their needs -- at value for money prices.  Customer feedback confirms we achieve these objectives. The Panorama program failed completely to highlight the good work that is done by will writers in general.  

 

As for the regulation of will-writers we do not perceive it would be beneficial to the general public.  Our reasons are: Evidence indicates regulation will reduce customer choice, increase costs of the wills, will not stop but increase malpractice, and probably increase the number of wills that are completed incorrectly - because people will make their own wills (thinking they are saving money) thus increasing the risk of error.

 

To support our argument:  Solicitors have been regulated for many years and yet we continue to read of cases of malpractice. We continue to see poorly drafted wills from well respected solicitor practises.  In our opinion, a better solution to regulation of the will writing sector en masse is to regulate Probate services (ah, well, and thinking about that .... They actually are already a restricted activity, but not enforced....  Which raises the question:  who will enforce regulation of the will-writing sector?) and to educate the general public; sadly, in my opinion, the Panorama program missed a good opportunity to do just that.

 

I was privileged to be allowed to personally speak on BBC Radio Stoke’s Pete Morgan’s breakfast show today.  On the program there was an informative discussion about how to avoid being ripped off by unethical will writers. Thank you Pete and the Breakfast Team for allowing a balanced viewpoint to be given.

  • Panorama Report
  • Unregulated will writers
  • Free / Low costs wills to tempt you
  • Beware prepaid ‘lifetime’ services

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