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Blog: Are you due a refund from Powers of Attorney registration fees?

April 23, 2018

 

If you registered a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) or Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017, you could be entitled to a refund plus interest from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).

Why were people overcharged?

This is because the operating costs of the OPG fell, due to an increase in applications and efficiency, but this was not reflected in a reduced application fee. The cost of applications was initially set at £110 and reduced from 1 April 2017 to £82.

Who can make a claim?

 If you paid to register a LPA or EPA in England or Wales from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2017 and are either:

  • the ‘donor’ – the person who made the Power of Attorney
  • an ‘attorney’ – appointed by the donor in an LPA or EPA to make decisions on their behalf

There needs to be only one claim per donor (even if there was more than one LPA).

The refund must be paid to the donor. If the donor has died, the executor of the will or administrator of the estate can claim a refund and you should contact the OPG directly.

How much can I claim?

This depends on when you paid to register the LPA or EPA. Refunds will be in the region of £17.00 – £54.00 per document, plus interest at a rate of 0.5%. A full table of dates and the amount of refund you can expect to receive is available on the government’s website.

How to make your claim?

There are two ways to make claim:

  1. Online: The claim can be made by completing a simple 10-minute form on www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney-refund and click ‘claim a refund online’.
  2. Telephone: If you do not have access to the internet, or are not comfortable making a claim online you can call the Refunds Helpline on 0300 456 0300 and choose option 6.

How long does it take?

It will take up to 12 weeks for the claim to be processed and if approved, will be paid to the donor’s bank account. If the claim is rejected, an appeal can be made to the Refunds Helpline.

Regrettably, we are unable to claim the refund on your behalf and therefore you should contact the Office of the Public Guardian, OPG. If you have any questions relating to Powers of Attorney, please contact Sarah Ben-Tarifite in our Private Client team on 01386 562000.

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