REFERRAL FEES AND THE JACKSON REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

The Jackson report and its recommendations for referral fees will have a varying effect on brokers.

The Jackson report recommendations for banning or putting a cap on referral fees is likely to have in an impact on all parties involved, including the consumer.

The recommendations will clearly benefit those who pay the referral fees, but those who receive them will suffer a potentially large drop in revenue.

The effect that this is going to have on consumers is unclear. The argument is that the changes to referral fees may have a positive effect, with customer service levels potentially rising as a result. This is based on an assumption that law firms will use the additional funds that would have been spent on referral fees on customer service. Ultimately, however the effect on the consumer will depend on the individual firm’s response to paying less referral fees, which is unlikely to be consistent across the board.

Helen was speaking to Post Magazine for an article published on 28th May 2010. The full article can be found at www.postonline.co.uk.