Hundreds of thousands of elderly and vulnerable people are to get a refund after being overcharged £89million in legal fees by government quango
- The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has admitted that anyone who applied for a loved one to look after their affairs in recent years has paid far too much
- Those affected are all now due a refund on the excessive fees they paid
- Fees have recently been reduced from £110 to £82, suggesting the amount to be given back could be up to £28 per person
Hundreds of thousands of elderly and vulnerable people have been overcharged £89 million in legal fees by a Government body.
Anyone who applied for a loved one to look after their financial affairs in recent years has paid far too much, the quango responsible has admitted.
Those affected are all now due a refund on the excessive fees they paid for the Lasting Power of Attorney – but the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has not yet told them or their relatives.
Those affected are all now due a refund on the excessive fees they paid for the Lasting Power of Attorney – but the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has not yet told them or their relatives (file photo)
Fees have recently been reduced from £110 to £82, suggesting the amount to be given back could be up to £28 per person.
Last night campaigners called on Ministers to speed up the process.
Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, said: ‘We always encourage older people and their families to organise Power of Attorney well in advance of any suggestion it may be needed as it can make life much simpler for everyone later on.
‘The fact that so many people have been overcharged risks seriously reducing public trust in the system, and the sooner the Government can reassure us that this cannot happen again and recompenses those who have lost out the better.’
The Ministry of Justice would not reveal how many people have been overcharged but said in a statement: ‘We are delighted over two million people have registered Powers of Attorney. This has allowed us to lower the fees charged for using the service, which we hope will encourage even more people to take this important step and plan for the future'
Lasting Powers of Attorney were introduced as a way for people to nominate someone who can make decisions on their behalf later in life, including health and welfare choices, as well as dealing with property and money.
Latest figures show that 2.5 million Powers of Attorney have now been registered with the OPG over the past decade in England and Wales, with a record 648,318 in the past year.
The agency was only meant to recover its costs from customers and not turn a profit. But it has now admitted taking in more cash than it needed, collecting a surplus of £27 million in the past year alone – and £89 million too much in total.
The Ministry of Justice would not reveal how many people have been overcharged but said in a statement: ‘We are delighted over two million people have registered Powers of Attorney.
‘This has allowed us to lower the fees charged for using the service, which we hope will encourage even more people to take this important step and plan for the future.
The significant uptake also means some customers may have been charged more than necessary to cover the costs of the service. It is right they should be refunded, and we will announce details in due course.’
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