Consumer Protection gets more complicated
Over recent years, contracts between solicitor and client have increasingly become subject to consumer protection provisions. These provisions have become more stringent recently as a result of compliance with the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU, and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 come into force on 13 June 2014, replacing the current regulations. The new regulations impose requirements to provide information and to make available a prescribed means of cancelling the contract. However, they also differentiate types of contract, depending on the circumstances under which they were entered into, with different provisions relating to each.
On premises contracts – a contract entered into at the solicitor’s office with the client in attendance
Off-premises contracts – a contract entered into by attendance on the client away from the office, e.g. at hospital or the client’s home
Distance contracts – contracts entered into without direct attendance on the client. Additional provisions relate to distance contracts concluded by electronic means and for those made by telephone.
Only on-premises contracts give solicitors the automatic right to start work on the case immediately: with all other methods, the solicitor requires direct instructions from the client to start work immediately. Otherwise he must await the expiry of the cancellation period, or risk not getting paid for work undertaken. And if proper information has not been given, the cancellation period can run for up to a year.
Not getting paid for some of the work undertaken is a relatively minor consequence of non-compliance however: non-compliance with the Regulations is likely to invalidate the retainer, and also can constitute a criminal offence. As a result, we can expect Paying Parties to consider our clients’ rights of paramount importance! To maximise recovery and stay ahead of the new raft of challenges that we can expect, it is therefore important that solicitors are fully aware of their obligations under the new regulations.
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