It has been announced that people who registered a Lasting or Enduring Power of Attorney between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017 paid more than was necessary for the Office of the Public Guardian to charge for the registration.  As such, the Ministry of Justice have set up a refund scheme to allow people to claim back the overpaid fees.

Who can claim? 

You can make a claim if you are:-
• The Donor, being the person who made the Power of Attorney.
• An Attorney, being the person appointed by the Donor to make decisions on their behalf.  If you are a replacement Attorney, you can only claim if you have been formally appointed to take over from the primary Attorneys.
• An Executor if the Donor has passed away.

If you are claiming as an Attorney, the refund will be issued to the Donor.

How much can you claim?

This depends on when the registration fee was paid.  The table below shows the refund amounts.  In addition to this, the Donor will receive interest of 0.5%.

When you paid the fee Refund for each power of attorney

April 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

If the Donor received a remission on the fee, due to their financial circumstances at the time their Lasting Power(s) of Attorney was/were registered, they will receive half of the refund amount mentioned above.
How do you claim?

If you visit the following website www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney-refund you can complete a simple online claim which takes approximately 10 minutes.
To do this you will need:-
• The Donor’s UK bank account number and sort code
• A copy of the Lasting Power of Attorney document

If you are an Executor making a claim, before the Office of the Public Guardian can process this, they will need certain documentation from you.  Once they have this, a member of their dedicated Refunds team will contact you to complete the refund claim over the telephone.
To commence the claim, simply send photocopies or scans of the deceased’s

• Death certificate
• Will or Grant of Representation (a grant of probate or grant of letters of administration)

To either [email protected] or POA Refunds Team, Office of the Public Guardian, PO Box 16185, Birmingham, B2 2WH.

Ensure you state in the covering email or letter, the following information:-

• Your name
• Your contact telephone number, email and postal address
• The Donor’s name
• The case reference number (if known), which is shown on the top right hand corner of the registered Lasting Power of Attorney.

If you have any queries or concerns the Office of the Public Guardian’s dedicated Refunds Helpline are available on:-

Telephone: 0300 456 0300 (choose option 6)
Textphone: 0115 934 2778
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9am to 5pm
Wednesday 10am to 5pm