One of our clients, a lovely man who is 85, lives on his own now after his wife sadly passed away 6 years ago. We assist him with his filing, post and his bills and paperwork mainly as he gets very anxious and muddled about what needs to be done. We visited John weekly at his house and through lockdown have been in constant contact with him on the phone, still dealing with his matters.

Upon discovering that he had a policy with a well known domestic appliance insurance company, it became clear that he was muddled about why he was paying so much and even what it was for. We have General Power of Attorney (GPA) for John which means that we can discuss his financial matters with third parties legally on his behalf. This is a temporary Power of Attorney that lasts for 12 months and can then either lapse or be renewed and costs the client nothing to set up. It saves us having to be with the actual client when we speak to companies such as this and companies recognise this legal document.

We telephoned the company on John’s behalf and after speaking with an advisor it became clear that he had in fact two policies with this company for the same appliance…for the last 10 years! We successfully organised a refund for the full amount of just over £900. Our client was over the moon, he had no idea he was paying for it twice. Happy client !