Trying to sort out my father's financial affairs and have been in communication with his pension administrators. I have had several e-mail conversations and telephone conversations with them. They asked for a copy of the LPA so I sent them a certified copy, produced by my local solicitor. It's stamped on every page (and cost quite a bit). They've returned it saying they need to see the original - what's the bloody point of a certified copy then? Fuming.
Rant: pension manager won't accept LPA certified copy
- Thread starter spandit
- Start date
Do not send the original!! Maybe worth trying to speak to someone senior at the pension company? Or email them saying you will get your solicitor to take it up with their legal team. In 6 years, I have never been asked to send an original, though there have been posts on TP from others who've had similar problems.
@spandit it's a pain, often lots of companies are unaware of the legalities I would resend your certified copy and attach a print of the opg/Gov.uk guidance https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/certify for them. Also with a note to the effect of asking them to provide details of their formal complaints process, it usually gets them moving a bit.
Don't send them the original (I'm sure you wouldn't anyway!)
The last financial services organisation I sent a certified copy to shredded it accidentally. They compensated me the cost of it, but if it had been the original...! My mother's solicitor holds the original and I sure he wouldn't let it out of his hands.
The last financial services organisation I sent a certified copy to shredded it accidentally. They compensated me the cost of it, but if it had been the original...! My mother's solicitor holds the original and I sure he wouldn't let it out of his hands.
He's responded and said they still need the original. I've sent him those links. He said they couldn't see the original stamp (which is a series of punched holes, so don't show up on a photocopy) despite the fact that each page is stamped with the solicitor's certificate of authenticity. Grrrr...
What a pain in the backside for you! Surely a 'certified' copy is every bit as good as the original. (That's why we pay for them.) It shows that someone who is able to have that responsibility has certified they've had sight of the original; that's all that's needed. I had deputyship for my mum and, in the early months when I visited banks to transfer the accounts over to me, they viewed the original (of which I had several), with the court seal, and returned it after they'd copied it and certified it themselves with a stamp as being 'seen'. If you only have one copy of an important original document of course you want to keep it in your own hands. That's what certified copies are for.
It shouldn't be your problem that they can't see the 'original stamp' on their own photocopy. They've had sight of the certified copy - all they need to do is stamp on their copy that this was done. I hope you get to deal with somebody who actually has a clue. Fingers crossed.
It shouldn't be your problem that they can't see the 'original stamp' on their own photocopy. They've had sight of the certified copy - all they need to do is stamp on their copy that this was done. I hope you get to deal with somebody who actually has a clue. Fingers crossed.
If anyone has a relative who is still capable that relative can certify copies of their own POA - it does not have to be a solicitor - see the link above from @worriedson77 above. I have certified my own POA so the attorneys can have their own copies.
He does not have to.
You can print the sheets with a footer containing the 'I certify....' statement, different on last sheet.
If you can't manage footers preprint some paper with just the statement and then overprint the LPA
It's a moot point anyway, as we have solicitor certified copies. The pension manager is actually going to contact the solicitor to check that they are legit.
That's what we did. There was a bank who wouldn't accept a certified (by mum's solicitor) copy. Mum's solicitor was seething and wrote a letter to us stating that she held the original and if the bank weren't happy with her certification, they should contact her directly.
We copied her letter and since then, have always included a copy when sending off a the certified LPA - needless to say, the bank rolled over quietly, never contacted the solicitor and we've never had any problems with other institutions since.
One of the reasons I got The Banjoman’s LPAs done by a Solicitor, they did all the work, kept the original and I had Certified Copies provided by them. Any queries and they dealt with it all. Thankfully all financial institutions accepted the Certified copies.
I saw this link on another forum from @Shedrech which says that they can actually search the register themselves! https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/searching-our-registers-of-attorneys-and-deputies
That only returns the fact that the power exists and names the deputy/deputies.
It does not give any other information, anybody accepting a power has to be sure that no extra clauses have been added invalidating a specific use, they therefore need to have sight of the complete original document or a certified copy.
