Thousands to get refund over power of attorney fees

HUNDREDS of thousands of people may be owed a refund after being overcharged when applying for power of attorney.

Power of attorney is a vital document that allows someone to make financial decisions on your behalf should you fall ill or have an accident.

Applications have soared to a record 648,318 in the past year, with 2.5 million registered in England and Wales in the past decade.

But those who have applied since 2013 have paid too much.

The Ministry of Justice is only supposed to charge enough to cover the cost of the service, but the increase in applications means they have made an £89 million surplus which must be repaid.

The fee to register a power of attorney was £110 until April this year when it was reduced to £82, suggesting people have been overcharged by around £28.

The Ministry of Justice has said a refund process will be announced ‘in due course’. A spokeswoman adds: ‘The significant uptake means some customers may have been charged more than necessary to cover the costs of the service. It is right that they should be refunded.’

But Karon Walton, director of Solicitors for the Elderly, says: ‘How they will refund the many thousands of customers who have been overcharged remains unclear.’