Labour MP Dan Jarvis, has challenged the Justice Secretary to introduce legislation to protect people in Barnsley from being ripped off by unregulated will writers.

During oral questions to the Justice Secretary, Jarvis said, “According to the Legal Services Consumer Panel, 180,000 wills are written each year by unregulated services. Both the National Press and The Barnsley Law society have reported that thousands of people are being ripped-off by unregulated Will writing services. So can I ask the Justice Secretary what does he believe is the solution to this problem?”

Speaking outside the House of Commons, the Barnsley Central MP explained, “This is a very important issue for people in Barnsley and across the country. In July 2011 the legal ombudsman revealed that 13% of cases brought to him involved problems with unregulated will writers.

“This is a very large number of cases and it is highly distressing for families who spend a great deal of time and money on a will that is useless if it hasn’t been written correctly.

“The Barnsley Law Society, along with the Legal Services Board, is urging the Government to introduce legislation to act to protect consumers against unregulated firms working in will writing.

“It is imperative that the appropriate protections are in place so that consumers do not fall foul of fraudsters and cowboy companies offering badly drafted wills.

"Consequently, I was encouraged to hear the Minister recognises that this is a growing problem and that he intends to publish his response to the Legal Service Board's recent consultation, shortly.

"I will be keeping the pressure on the Government to do the right thing for people in Barnsley and introduce a regulatory framework."