On 1 February 2018, the Ministry of Justice launched a refund scheme for approximately 2 million people who may have overpaid when registering a lasting or enduring power of attorney.
The refund scheme applies to anyone who registered a lasting or enduring power of attorney with the Office of the Public Guardian between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017.
During this period, the OPG’s operating costs decreased as the process became more efficient, however, the application fee remained unchanged.
The amount to be refunded depends on when the registration took place:
| When the fee was paid | Refund for each power of attorney |
| April 2013 to September 2013 | £54 |
| October 2013 to March 2014 | £34 |
| April 2014 to March 2015 | £37 |
| April 2015 to March 2016 | £38 |
| April 2016 to March 2017 | £45 |
Those who received a fee remission (i.e. paid a reduced fee) will receive half the refund.
In order to apply for a refund, the donor or attorney should either visit www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney-refund or contact the refunds helpline:
Refunds Helpline
Email: poarefunds@justice.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 456 0300 (choose option 6)
It can take up to 12 weeks for the claim to be processed and the refund will be paid into the donor’s bank account. If the refund claim is rejected, the donor/attorney can appeal by contacting the Refunds Helpline.
This article was first published as part of ‘The Legal Service Newsletter’. The Legal Service is provided by Stewarts’ pro bono team as part of the firm’s commitment to help people with serious injury. The service offers free advice to patients when they need it most.
To make a referral to The Legal Service, please contact Kara Smith by phone on 020 7822 8000 or by email at ksmith@stewartslaw.com.
Media contact: Lydia Buckingham, Senior Marketing Executive, +44 (0) 20 7822 8134, lbuckingham@stewartslaw.com
