The Office of the Public Guardian (the body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice to supervise Deputies acting under the order of the Court of Protection) have announced that they have overcharged for some Deputyship annual supervision and assessment fees paid in the period between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2015.
This is because they did not accurately predict their costs and the number of Deputyships did not increase as they had anticipated. Accordingly, many people will now be due a refund.
If your Deputyship is still current, the Office of the Public Guardian will contact you directly regarding your refund.
If your Deputyship has ended, you will need to make a claim for a refund and the deadline to do this is 4 October 2022. You can claim the refund here: https://www.gov.uk/deputyship-refund or by calling the OPG on 0300 456 0300 and selection option 6.
In Deputyships arising after 1 April 2015, the correct charges will have been automatically applied and no refund will be due.
If you would like to know more about Deputyships, please contact the Private Client Team at Hartlaw on 01937 547000.
Rachel Saunders TEP
Partner – Private Client Team
