Power of attorney
Have you had problems when you asked a financial business to add a power of attorney to an account? Or have you – as an attorney acting on behalf of someone else – had a problem with a financial product or service?
On this page you'll discover the types of complaints we can help with relating to power of attorney – and how we approach them.
On this page
Handling complaints that involve power of attorney?
What is a power of attorney?
A power of attorney is a legal document that gives a third party the authority to make financial decisions for someone else. It’s usually drawn up when someone can’t – or doesn’t want to – make their own financial decisions.
The person making the power of attorney is called the ‘donor’ – or in Scotland, the ‘granter’.
The person taking on responsibility is called the ‘attorney’.
While a donor still has mental capacity, they can:
- continue to manage their own affairs
- change or cancel their power of attorney.
A power of attorney is no longer valid after the donor has passed away.
We can consider your complaint, no matter where you are in the UK. But the way a power of attorney works will vary depending on where you are in the UK. For more about how power of attorney works in your part of the UK, see:
- The Office of the Public Guardian Scotland in Scotland
- The Office for Care and Protection in Northern Ireland
- The Office of the Public Guardian in England and Wales.
MoneyHelper has guidance on making and registering a power of attorney for every part of the UK.
Can I bring a complaint involving power of attorney to the Financial Ombudsman?
You may be unhappy because a financial business:
- refused to deal with a named attorney
- dealt with someone they shouldn’t
- didn’t understand the powers an attorney was given and made it difficult for the attorney to access the donor's – or granter’s – accounts or services
- insisted on being given the original power of attorney document, rather than a certified copy
- was slow to recognise the power of attorney and accept the attorney’s authority
- made an administrative mistake, like registering the power of attorney for the wrong account or losing documents
- gave you the wrong, or not enough, information, which meant you made the wrong decision – on the donor’s behalf – about a product or service.
If so, you can bring a complaint to us as:
- the donor or granter, if you have capacity, or
- the attorney on behalf of the donor or granter.
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If a donor or granter still has mental capacity, they can:
- make a complaint to us themselves
- give their permission for someone else to complain on their behalf.
This person doesn’t have to be your attorney – it can be anyone. You can give your permission by:
- naming the person on the complaint form, which you will need to sign
- verbally or in writing, for example in an email – if you're not relying on the power of attorney, you can give your consent.
If you give your consent this way, we don’t need to see the power of attorney document.
We cannot accept a power of attorney authorised outside the UK. But, if you still have mental capacity and agree to our declaration, you can:
- bring the complaint yourself
- give someone permission to act on your behalf.
If the donor or granter has lost capacity, only the attorney can make a complaint on their behalf.
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We’ll need to see a copy of the power of attorney document to make sure you’re the person named as the attorney. This can be a paper copy or – in England and Wales – an access code so that we can view the power of attorney online.
We don’t need the original or a certified copy. But we can only accept power of attorney documents that have been issued in the UK.
We’ll need to check:
- whether the power of attorney is in the right format
- that it hasn’t lapsed or been revoked
- that it’s been registered at the appropriate office.
You can also give permission for someone else to deal with the complaint on your behalf.
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If a donor has more than one attorney, they may have specified whether their attorneys should act:
- ‘jointly’, which means the financial business needs permission from all attorneys before they carry out instructions – and we will need all the attorneys to bring the complaint – or
- ‘jointly and severally’, which means it’s up to the attorneys to decide whether to act together or as individuals, and we can accept a complaint brought by one or more of the attorneys.
A donor may also have:
- stated they wanted their attorneys to decide some matters jointly but others severally
- specified certain affairs that they don’t want their attorneys to manage at all.
How to bring a complaint that involves a power of attorney
Our service is free and easy to use.
- Before bringing a complaint to us on a donor or granter’s behalf, you should make a complaint to the financial business involved.
- They must send you a final response letter, usually within eight weeks but this can vary. If the problem is about a payment service or electronic money, for example, they must respond within 15 days. If they don’t respond within the time limits – or you're unhappy with their response – you can complain to us on the donor or granter’s behalf.
- Check that we can help you by using the link below. Our online form will ask you about some of the things we need to know upfront and help you make sure you’re ready to send us the complaint.
- Fill in our online complaint form. The case will be assigned to a case handler who will get in touch when they start to investigate.
- To help us consider a complaint fairly, we may ask you to provide more information to help us understand what happened.
How we resolve complaints that involve a power of attorney
We’ll make our decision about what happened using evidence from the donor or granter, the attorney, the financial business and any other relevant third parties. To reach a decision, we'll also consider:
- the relevant laws and regulations for the donor or granter’s part of the UK
- the regulators’ rules that were in place when the event happened and – if the Consumer Duty is relevant – whether the firm provided the same level of support as they would have provided to the customer
- guidance, standards and codes of practice in place at the time of the event
- the powers granted to the attorney in the power of attorney document, and whether the attorney acted in line with these
- whether the business treated the donor or granter fairly
- any relevant terms and conditions, marketing materials or other information the business gave the donor, granter or attorney.
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It can be difficult to resolve power of attorney complaints when there’s a dispute about a donor’s – or granter’s – ability to make decisions. This can happen, for example, when:
- a donor is starting to lose their mental capacity, doesn’t accept this and still wants to make decisions
- donors and attorneys are both giving instructions but are making conflicting requests.
Complaints can also be difficult to resolve when they concern events that happened when the donor or granter had mental capacity, but they don't any longer. In these situations, the donor or granter is unlikely to be able to give their version of events.
The business must act in the donor’s – or granter's – interests, while balancing their rights against the attorney’s concerns for their wellbeing.
However, it’s often difficult to tell whether someone still has the mental capacity to make a decision or get involved in these disputes.
Businesses may be able to help by making sure:
- the donor’s or granter’s finances don’t get overdrawn
- any regular payments agreed before the donor or granter lost mental capacity continue to be made where possible.
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Sometimes friends or family members – who haven’t been appointed as attorneys – worry that someone is financially abusing the donor or granter.
They may complain to a business because they object to something an attorney has done with the donor or granter's account with that business.
Businesses have a duty of care to the donor or granter. They should take any allegations seriously, while being aware of data protection.
The business must also act in the donor or granter’s interests, while balancing their rights against the attorney’s concerns for their wellbeing.
You, or the financial business concerned, may find it helpful to contact the appropriate organisation for advice, if:
- there’s a dispute between the donor – or granter – and the attorney, or
- a business suspects a power of attorney is being abused.
These organisations can make the right enquiries and decide the best course of action.
Until the allegations are resolved, the business may decide not to carry out certain instructions, for example, transferring money from a donor’s – or granter’s – account to an attorney’s account.
Businesses may also be able to help by making sure:
- the donor’s or granter’s finances don’t get overdrawn
- any regular payments agreed before the donor or granter lost mental capacity continue to be made where possible.
In both these scenarios, cases can be difficult to assess and we may decide it would be better for the courts to decide the case.
If we resolve the case ourselves, we'll tell you:
- whether we believe the business did something wrong and whether that mistake had a wider impact on the donor’s or granter’s affairs
- if the donor – or granter – was treated fairly or not
- how we reached our decision.
If we think the donor or granter has lost money because the business did something wrong, we’ll tell the business to put things right.
If so, we may also tell the business to pay compensation for any distress or inconvenience suffered. However, we don’t usually award compensation to third parties, such as family members or attorneys.
Case studies
Power of attorney didn’t entitle Joanne to use her mum’s login
Power of Attorney Banking
An unregistered enduring power of attorney causes problems
Banking Power of Attorney
A bank account is blocked after grandchildren use power of attorney
Banking Power of Attorney
More information and help
If you’re an attorney and you need advice, call us on 0300 123 9123 or 0800 023 4567.
If you have concerns about mental capacity or the actions of an attorney, you should speak to:
- the Office of the Public Guardian, in England and Wales, or call 0300 456 0300
- the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) Scotland in Scotland, or call 01324 678300
- the Office for Care and Protection in Northern Ireland, or call 0300 200 7812
For help with disputes about mental capacity, these bodies operate in each region:
- in England and Wales, the Court of Protection can appoint a ‘deputy’ or an ‘appointee’
- in Scotland, a sheriff court can grant intervention orders and guardianship orders
- in Northern Ireland, the Office of Care and Protection can appoint a ‘controller’.
