Refunds now available to people overcharged for deputy supervision

People in England and Wales, who were charged excessive deputyship supervision fees by the Office of the Public Guardian, are now able to begin to claim refunds under a scheme recently launched by the Ministry of Justice.

The OPG overcharged thousands of people for its supervisory service between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2015. The number of deputyships during that period was rising rapidly, but the OPG failed to revise its estimates for the costs of supervision and continued to charge fees that were substantially higher than the costs it actually incurred.

No clients have been overcharged since the fees were revised in April 2015. .

More than 80,000 people are now owed refunds, most of which will be less than £200 – we have already been contacted by clients wishing to discuss and clarify as to whether they are eligible for a refund.

The refund system does not apply to fees paid to either Scotland’s Office of the Public Guardian, the Office of Care and Protection in Northern Ireland, or the Court of Protection of England and Wales. The deadline for refund claims is 4 October 2022.

We have a specialised team of Directors at Rogers & Norton who currently act as Professional Deputies for clients who have lost capacity and either have no close relatives or act for those where the clients need professional assistance. Rogers & Norton’s deputyship team have also become involved with a variety of clients who have been disabled from a young age or who have lost capacity due to old age and who now need assistance with their finances.

We deal with a wide range of cases from complex personal injury awards for young adults and children, to elderly clients with dementia in care.

If have any queries regarding court of protection matters please contact me on 01603 675645 or at lr@rogers-norton.co.uk.