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Martin Lewis, money saving expert, explained there are still people around the country who are entitled to a refund on their Power of Attorney applications. How can people claim the money?
Martin Lewis shared the update in his most recent newsletter, addressing that there are 1.3 million people in the UK who have not claimed their £54 refund.
A power of attorney is a written authorisation to represent or act on another’s behalf in private affairs business.
The Ministry of Justice announced that people who paid to register a Lasting Power of Attorney in England or Wales between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2017 were owed money back after the fees were set too high.
However not everyone entitled to the refund has claimed it back yet.
The MoneySavingExpert newsletter read: “Figures we’ve obtained show only 400,000 out of 1.7million refunds have been claimed so far.
“This leaves about 1.3million still to be paid, with just days to go until the deadline.”
The deadline to claim the £54 refund is just three days away on January 31, 2021.
It also shared how refunds are owed because the full application fee for registering a Power of Attorney remained at £110 between 2013 and 2017, even though the operating costs of the Office of the Public Guardian had dropped.
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The fee was reduced to £82 in April 2017.
The newsletter added: “As the fee is simply supposed to cover the operating costs, the Government is repaying the difference between what applicants paid and what they should have paid.
“Interest will also be applied on top at a rate of 0.5 percent – which is likely to be pennies or a pound or two for most people.
“How much you can reclaim depends on when you paid for the Power of Attorney, and whether you paid the full registration or the half-price fee.”
The Money Saving Expert shared a chart on the different refunds Britons are entitled to.
If you paid the fee between April and September 2013, you can claim £54 back if you paid the full fee or £27 if the half price fee was paid.
A £34 refund can be claimed if the fee was paid between October 2013 and March 2014.
If you paid the full fee between April 2014 and March 2015, then you are entitled to a £37 rebate.
A £38 refund is being issued to those who paid the fee between April 2015 and March 2016 while a £45 refund is entitled to those who paid it between April 2016 and March 2017.
How can you claim the refund if you are entitled?
The MoneySavingExpert newsletter explained: “You can apply for a full refund online at the Government website until Sunday 31 January, though if you are struggling you can call the Office of the Public Guardian on 0300 456 0300 – lines are only open on weekdays, so you’ll need to call before 5pm on Friday 29 January to meet the deadline if doing this by phone.”
For those claiming you will need:
- The donor’s name, address and date of birth
- Their UK bank account number and sort code
- The name of one of the attorneys on the Power of Attorney
To find out more and sign up to Martin Lewis’ weekly newsletter, visit www.moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip.
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