Cash back with a click
Don’t be put off – it can take no time to claim back the money you are owed
Refund, refund, refund… no, i’m not stuck on repeat, i’m trying to hammer home that people are owed hundreds of millions of pounds that they’re just not claiming – most of which can be done with just a quick click or phone call. Here’s what you need to do…
1 over a million people are due a refund on power of attorney registration fees. A lasting power of attorney (POA) is a legal document. It allows you, while you still have the mental capacity to do so, to nominate a trusted friend or relative to look after your affairs if you lose capacity. And they’re not just for the elderly – I have one, and I’m 45. For more on how to do it cheaply go to mse.me/ power of attorney. Yet if you’ve already got one, and did it between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017 in England and Wales, you paid £110, which is more than it should have been. If that was you, you’re owed up to £54 per POA, which includes 0.5% interest. To claim a refund go to gov. uk/power-of-attorney-refund or call the Office of the Public Guardian on 0300 456 0300 and select option six.
2 if you’re married you may be due a free £900. Three years ago, the government launched the marriage (and civil partnerships) tax allowance. It applies where one is a basic-rate taxpayer and the other a non-taxpayer. The non-taxpayer can apply to have 10% (£1,190) of their tax-free allowance shifted to the taxpayer. This means £1,190 of income they were taxed on at 20% is now tax-free – a £238 gain this year done via altering your tax code. And you can back claim a refund to when it started too, so that’s a cheque for £662, totalling £900. Go to gov.uk/marriage-allowance/ how-to-apply.
3 reclaim overpaid energy With winter long gone this is the perfect time for those who pay energy by monthly direct debit to check if you’ve got too much credit. This is because energy firms estimate your usage and bill you based on the estimates. If those are set too high, you can end up overpaying. Only do this if you’ve been providing regular meter readings, or have a smart meter doing it for you. If not, send them a meter reading. Go online or call up to check whether you are in credit, and if so by how much.
4 Graduated uni? You may be due £££s back.
In the last three years over 100,000 uni leavers started to repay their loans too early, and are due some of it back. And as this could go back to 1998 it’s likely there are 100,000s more. To check and to get it back is easy. Just call the Student Loan Company on 0300 100 0611 and ask. It takes five minutes and I’ve had tons of successes. See mse.me/studentloanoverpayments guide.