The National Consumer Council (NCC) warmly welcomes today’s publication of the Legal Services Bill – an eagerly-awaited and important step towards a new legal services regime that will put consumers’ interests at its heart.
Central to the reforms is a new independent office of legal complaints. NCC’s legal services expert Steve Brooker says:
‘With one complaint for every six solicitors in England and Wales, too many lawyers are letting consumers down. The new independent one-stop customer complaints-handling body is crucial to giving fast and fair redress to consumers who have been badly treated.
‘The true test of these reforms will be whether they achieve a culture shift in the legal profession - one which restores consumer trust and translates into a significant reduction in complaints.’
NCC urges MPs and the House of Lords to give the Bill a fair wind and smooth passage onto the statute book. Public confidence in the profession stands to gain a huge boost as a result.
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