Will writers taking thousands from customers, Panorama claims

Popular will-writing services are unfairly taking thousands of pounds from customers and their loved ones, a BBC investigation has claimed.

By Martin Beckford
Published: 6:00AM BST 10 Aug 2010

The firms claim they are cheaper and more straightforward than solicitors at creating a last will and testament, and are said to account for 10 per cent of the market.

But a Panorama documentary says in some cases their fees quickly escalate from hundreds to thousands of pounds in hidden fees and charges, while the supposed beneficiaries of wills can be left with nothing.

The problem is made worse by the fact that will-writers are not regulated as strictly as traditional law firms or financial services companies, which used to help people write wills.

Fergus Ewing, a Member of the Scottish Parliament who is bringing in protection north of the border, told the programme: “The public have a right to be protected, in Scotland they will be.

“Anyone who is charging a fee for writing a will must be regulated. They must have appropriate qualifications, they must have proper indemnity in place. At present none of this protection exists.

"I hope that justice will be done for people – throughout Britain, ideally – in protection against crooks, cowboys and con men."

The programme, broadcast on Monday night on BBC One, interviewed one woman who was left a large sum by a friend but who never received a penny because of fraud by the will-writing firm involved.

Mary Neenan, a single mother from Birmingham, said: "To have something like that £35,000-£40,000 would have been a life-changing amount of money for the three of us."

She went to police and last month David Nash and Nicholas Butcher, two men behind the firm, Lincoln-based Willmakers of Distinction, were each jailed for three-and-a-half years for stealing more than £400,000 from estates they were administering.

Neil Hollingsworth, of the Economic Crimes Unit of Lincolnshire Police, said: “A lot of the times, probably 90 per cent of those cases, the beneficiaries didn't know they were beneficiaries and so they weren't asking questions. I guess they probably thought they'd got the perfect crime."

However financial experts also warn that some banks are wrongly claiming that they must be added as joint or sole executors when writing customers’ wills, which can reduce the value of their legacies substantially.

James Daley, of Which? Money, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What that means is when you die they’re then able to take as much as 4 per cent of your estate in fees, which ends up adding up to tens of thousands of pounds.

“It’s quite a complex area. It’s the kind of thing most people have to do once in their lives. You’re really in the hands of the advisers, it’s really important that they give you the right advice.

“If somebody tells you that you need to have that firm written in to your will you take their word for it and you might not realise you’re then going to pay for that. This is a widespread issue, it’s a real problem out there.”

Pauline Platt, a Probate Lawyer at SAS Daniels LLP, said: "I've seen an increase in the companies who offer will writing 'services' and the shocking financial pitfalls that have faced some unwary consumers. It can be immensely costly to undo, and can leave a family in disarray after the loved one has died – which is usually only when issues come to light.

“If clients use a solicitor in the first instance, not only can they offer the correct legal advice taking into account the client's domestic and financial situation, but they can also advise on other services such as the creation of trusts, transfer of assets and powers of attorney.”