TWELVE MONTHS OF LEGAL ASSISTANCE: A SNAPSHOT

2022 was another busy year for our Legal Assistance Helpline (LAH) Team. The 365 days, 24/7 helpline took over 44,000 calls and issued over 32,000 pieces of legal advice over the past twelve months. Though slightly lower than at the peak of Covid-19 – when call volumes spiked, our team was kept busy supporting customers on a wide range of legal queries, from the sale of goods to nuisance neighbours.

Looking back over our data, it was interesting to see some clear patterns emerging and areas where customers are increasingly seeking more support.

Hot topics

Nearly 40% of all calls to the LAH last year related to consumer disputes, the majority on sale of goods, supply of service and contract issues, with a high proportion relating to vehicles. We’ve seen ongoing issues with supply chains because of Brexit, lingering after-effects of Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine. These issues have resulted in difficulty sourcing goods and a delay in obtaining certain products. Labour has also been impacted by these factors and we’re seeing building projects suffering significant delays, much to the frustration of customers.

Almost 30% of calls to the LAH concerned property, over half of which related to landlord and tenant disputes. This was an area that spiked in Covid-19 as tenants struggled to keep up with rent payments and landlords needed clarity on their rights regarding issuing eviction notices. The frequency of the calls last year returned to a pre-Covid ‘norm’, however, with ongoing inflation, it wouldn’t be surprising if these types of calls began to edge up slightly in the coming year.

Inflation may also have an impact on employment disputes in the coming year. Currently, job vacancies appear to be at very high levels, with recruitment still a big challenge for lots of businesses. However, if inflation remains high, and consumer spending drops we are likely to see an impact on businesses, leading to redundancy calls increasing.

Supporting customers

Despite the large volume of calls throughout the year, we were happy to see that customer satisfaction remains high:

• 94% of our LAH customers reported that they found our advice helpful and easy to understand
• 89% were either satisfied or very satisfied with the support they received and over 85% would recommend the service to a friend

Legal Expenses Insurance and assistance products and services are often sold without much fanfare, and we know there are customers who are unsure about how the products can help. We’ve talked before about the need for better education to ensure customers see the value of these products, but the statistics prove that not only is there a clear need for expert legal advice, but that the service is greatly appreciated by the customers who use it – as one customer articulated: “Polite. Professional. Personal. Perfect.”

If you require any further information in relation to this update, or details of our products and services, please contact your Partnerships Manager or email enquries@arclegal.co.uk.