Partial refund for lasting powers of attorney

Fees charged by bodies such as the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) are set at a level that reflects their operating costs. The process of registering LPAs became more efficient between April 2013 and March 2017, but the fee was not lowered to reflect these reduced costs.

The Ministry of Justice has launched a scheme to refund those who registered an LPA during that time and have announced that those receiving refunds will receive an extra payment equivalent to 0.5% interest.

The process can be completed online at gov.uk/power-of-attorney-refund and should take about 10 minutes to complete. Either the donor (the person who granted the LPA) or an attorney can make the claim, but the money will be refunded to the donor directly to their bank account; the applicant will need these details when applying.

Only one claim per donor is necessary, even if more than one LPA has been registered.

The value of the refund depends upon when the LPA was registered:

A claim can be made by phone if the:

• applicant doesn't have a computer or cannot use one easily
• donor doesn't have a UK bank account
• donor has died
• applicant is a court-appointed deputy.

The telephone number is 0300 456 0300 (choosing option 6 at the menu).

A claim will be processed in up to 12 weeks. If approved, the refund will be paid directly to the donor's bank account; if rejected, an appeal can be raised by contacting the Refunds Helpline on the telephone number above.