In the continued challenge to improve client service standards in the property sector, tmgroup has introduced a new addition to the tmconnect platform that will help law firms to offer an enhanced level of communication with their clients.
Launched in February 2020, the latest addition to the tmgroup suite of services is the new Consumer Portal. Designed to streamline and simplify the conveyancing process and offer both increased transparency and an enhanced client experience in property transactions, the Consumer Portal is accessed through an online gateway.
There were over 870,000 property transactions in the UK in 2019, with an average case taking up to 20 weeks to completion. The SRA reported that conveyancing received the second largest number of complaints across all legal areas.
Almost 20% of the 7,500 client complaints to the Legal Ombudsman are focused on delays, hidden costs, failure to follow instructions or provide adequate advice or background information by the solicitor. The Consumer Portal has been designed to support firms with these issues by providing total transparency and enhancing the client experience throughout.
In the recent Frontiers Legal IT Landscapes 2020 survey from LPM Magazine, to over 80 law firms, client-facing technology, including portals, are seen as business critical to achieve competitive advantage, with all firms facing an increasing challenge to provide effective client communication.
Practice management and client engagement systems are where the majority of firms store their key client data. However, many firms are disadvantaged by having multiple “on-premise” systems that do not integrate efficiently or effectively.
The new Consumer Portal is part of the tmconnect platform, currently used by over 100 law firms, which can integrate with an existing practice management system and provides additional advantages, such as:
•Workflow management
•Payment gateways
•Anti-MoneyLaundering (AML)
•Searches
•Milestone management
•Post completion
Firms using the product gain access to a host of features and automated processes designed to address the challenges at the core of the complaint issues and provide a connected property community of law firms, estate agents and lenders.
Consumer expectations of being able to transact immediately and digitally are now part of everyday life. This is why the Consumer Portal has been equipped with mobile capability, providing instant remote accessibility for clients at their convenience. Other features include:
•Increased transparency and clarity on both sides of the property transaction
•Enhanced value-added customer experience and benefits
•”On the move” communication and updates
•Two -way integration with tm client systems and consumers
•Full regulatory compliance and encrypted document sharing
•A trusted supplier partnership with ongoing support and development benefits
Consumer Portal offers futureproofing capability with secure and robust client confidentiality included as a standard from an ISO27001 accredited supplier . Automated “intelligent forms” provide increased efficiency and reduced manual data entry, leaving law firms with more opportunity to concentrate on client relationships.
For further information or a demo of the Consumer Portal or other tmgroup services, please contact helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk or call 0800 840 5571 or speak to your local account manager.
“Following our decision to use the tmconnect platform, the Consumer Portal is the obvious next step for TPS to continue driving efficiencies and provide clarity at every stage of the process for our clients.
It provides a single point of communication and connects our network of estate agents, their clients and our panel of solicitors and conveyancers perfectly which will make a difference to their experience of using us, which is critical for our relationship with them.
The automation features will help us to save time and cost in our processes with transparency and accuracy for our clients. This streamlined approach is what really helps to set us aside in the market.
Our partnership with tmgroup also gives us confidence to know that we’ll have total support on the journey from someone who really understands our business and our market.”
Phil Irving, Managing Director, Team Property Services
