The Planning Crowd / Simpler Law

Billo57

I have had my will and POA with these people for 5 years. I received a call to say I was due a review; after the review (which was more like a sales pitch) I was told some changes would be needed to my will, The cost would be £3600 approx. and that is with a 20% discount: there was also a document storage fee of £18/ month. I made an appointment with a well known highly reputable Solicitors in Liverpool today and I was able to resolve all of my issues and gain storage of all of my documents for a cost of £600 + VAT and no charge for storage of documents. When I contacted The Planning Crowd /Simpler Law I had to pay them £40 to return my original documents. Beware - Shop around.

Simon11

In the last year, I have made my will and POA.

It cost me £82 (payment to government agency to do POA)- what are you actually getting for your money to need to pay for this service?

Albermarle

Simon11 said:

In the last year, I have made my will and POA.

It cost me £82 (payment to government agency to do POA)- what are you actually getting for your money to need to pay for this service?

I think unless your will is very simple, it is recommended that a solicitor does it, if there is anything at all even slightly out of the ordinary.
But as the OP says better it is a local solicitor and not some rip off firm.
The PoA you can do yourself for £82 .
In both cases if there is any possibility that someone might say in future that the person involved was not of sound mind, when they made the will/signed the PoA, it is better to have a professional stamp on it.

Zephyrx

Billo57 said:

I have had my will and POA with these people for 5 years. I received a call to say I was due a review; after the review (which was more like a sales pitch) I was told some changes would be needed to my will, The cost would be £3600 approx. and that is with a 20% discount: there was also a document storage fee of £18/ month. I made an appointment with a well known highly reputable Solicitors in Liverpool today and I was able to resolve all of my issues and gain storage of all of my documents for a cost of £600 + VAT and no charge for storage of documents. When I contacted The Planning Crowd /Simpler Law I had to pay them £40 to return my original documents. Beware - Shop around.

Strongly, strongly warn you about the legal situation here.  Despite calling itself 'Simpler Law', they are not solicitors and therefore NOT regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.  As a result, you have little recourse if something goes wrong. They are not lawyers, although judging by a lot of reviews of them, many people seem to think they are speaking to a solicitor, when in fact they are not. 

Unfortunately, will writing is a regulatory black hole unless you use a solicitor, and those people can give you any kind of dodgy advice without you having the ability to refer any problems with them to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. 

In short, have your eyes wide open if you deal with a company offering these services when they are not covered by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.  That whole area can be a wild west and there are some shocking stories of companies who have not been scrupulous and offered terrible advice that happens to earn them money. For your own protection, always look for a company that is indeed covered by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Albermarle

Zephyrx said:

Billo57 said:

I have had my will and POA with these people for 5 years. I received a call to say I was due a review; after the review (which was more like a sales pitch) I was told some changes would be needed to my will, The cost would be £3600 approx. and that is with a 20% discount: there was also a document storage fee of £18/ month. I made an appointment with a well known highly reputable Solicitors in Liverpool today and I was able to resolve all of my issues and gain storage of all of my documents for a cost of £600 + VAT and no charge for storage of documents. When I contacted The Planning Crowd /Simpler Law I had to pay them £40 to return my original documents. Beware - Shop around.

Strongly, strongly warn you about the legal situation here.  Despite calling itself 'Simpler Law', they are not solicitors and therefore NOT regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.  As a result, you have little recourse if something goes wrong. They are not lawyers, although judging by a lot of reviews of them, many people seem to think they are speaking to a solicitor, when in fact they are not. 

Unfortunately, will writing is a regulatory black hole unless you use a solicitor, and those people can give you any kind of dodgy advice without you having the ability to refer any problems with them to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. 

In short, have your eyes wide open if you deal with a company offering these services when they are not covered by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.  That whole area can be a wild west and there are some shocking stories of companies who have not been scrupulous and offered terrible advice that happens to earn them money. For your own protection, always look for a company that is indeed covered by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

You are responding to a thread that is over two years old.