Sharing the Business?

Michael Brooks recently wrote to the President of the Law Society in regard to "pack" material that was being handed to Registrars by an organisation called Probate Bereavement Advice so that when relatives came to register the death of a friend or family member the packs were passed on. Although the packs themselves included some useful information the basic purpose, it seemed to us, was to enable a company called ITC Legal Services to obtain Probate instructions!

The response Michael received from the Law Society was as follows ....

"I have heard of ITC and the Probate Bereavement Advice service although my knowledge of them is limited. Having spoken to colleagues here, I understand that the Probate Bereavement Advice is a not-for-profit organisation. ITC has existed for some years and now provides estate administration services mainly be telephone. It is staffed by solicitors as well as others. I think they are able to offer a cheaper service than some solicitors as they operate mainly via a telephone service. Some time ago a Law Society policy adviser called them as a "mystery shopper" to check what they were saying to customers and they did advise her to go to a solicitor if she wanted face-to-face service.

Personally, I do not think that Government departments should be parading advertising opportunities in this way. In our discussion with the Government over HIPS we did manage to ensure that the HIP regulation specifically excluded this type of activity".

The above was an interesting response from the Law Society but the question must be posed of course - do we really think ITC/Probate Bereavement Advice is a not-for-profit organisation or is that just sceptical?