Claim a Power of Attorney Refund

The Ministry of Justice has launched a fee refund scheme for fee payments made between 1st April 2013 and 31 March 2017 in England and Wales for a power of attorney.

You can get part of your application fee back if you applied to register a power of attorney from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2017.

This applies to lasting powers of attorney (LPA) and enduring powers of attorney (EPA).

You can only claim a refund if you made the power of attorney in England or Wales.

You can apply online or by telephone.

WHO CAN CLAIM A REFUND?

You can make a claim if you’re:

• the ‘donor’ – the person who made the power of attorney
• an ‘attorney’ – appointed by the donor in an LPA or EPA

The refund must be paid to the donor.

You only need to make one claim per donor, even if you made more than one power of attorney.

HOW MUCH YOU WILL GET

How much you get depends on when you paid the fees. You’ll also get 0.5% interest.

You can still claim a refund even if you don’t know when you paid the fees.

Below you can see what refund you get for EACH power of attorney based on when you paid the fee.

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

You’ll get half the refund if you paid a reduced fee (‘remission’).

HOW TO CLAIM

It takes about 10 minutes to claim online.

You’ll need the donor’s UK bank account number and sort code.

You must claim by phone if:

• the donor doesn’t have a UK bank account
• you’re a court-appointed deputy

You can also claim by phone if you don’t have a computer or can’t use one easily.

Contact the Refunds Helpline:

Refunds Helpline
Email: poarefunds@justice.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 456 0300 (choose option 6)
Textphone: 0115 934 2778
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9am to 5pm and Wednesday 10am to 5pm
CHARGES APPLY TO CALLS SO PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR FURTHER DETAILS

IF THE DONOR HAS DIED

If the donor has died then you’ll need to send the following documents before you make a claim:

• Death certificate of the deceased donor
• Grant of representation (for example, grant of probate or letters of administration) or a will

You can email the documents to poarefunds@justice.gsi.gov.uk, or send them by post:

POA Refunds Team
7th Floor, Office of the Public Guardian
PO Box 16185
Birmingham
B2 2WH

When the POA Refunds Team have received your documents, they will phone you to complete your refund.

AFTER YOU HAVE CLAIMED

It takes up to 12 weeks for your claim to be processed.

If your claim is approved, the refund will be paid to the donor’s bank account.

You can appeal a decision if your claim is rejected – contact the Refunds Helpline.

Find out more and make your claim here:  https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney-refund

If you would like more information on setting up a power of attorney then call us today and ask for Gemma Tyrrell.

01420 82881