concerns with the Office of the Public guardian

little_mamma

Has anyone else had serious concerns re the OPG and the election /supervision of deputies by the Office of the public guardian ?
My brother and I have tried to raise the alarm with the handling of a loved ones finances by the deputies elected under the mental health act which states that an individual no longer having 'capacity 'should have appointed deputies to handle their money on their behalf.
Despite repeated letters and phone calls to the OPG nothing was done .
The final straw being told after the sad death of the relative that in spite of the entire estate being spent and no final accounts submitted after numerous requests we are told the unbelievable statement below:
Once the donor has deceased (this is the person lacking capacity )has died , it is no longer the responsibility of the OPG to investigate the deputies (people handling the money belonging to the donor.
Has anyone out there had similar experience as there is a definite grey area here whereby unscrupulous individuals can get away with anything.
I intend to expose this shambles of an organisation which is a complete waste of tax payers money and leaves the most vunerable members of society exposed to being taken advantage of.
The most concerning issues being that the deputies are the very people who will be informed by the medical profession when these individuals are terminally ill and possibly their remaining life expectancy. Therefore anyone wishing to help themselves will know that should the donor pass away there will be no protection at all from the OPG for the donors money.
This to me is unbelievable, alarming and needs investigation by the government as I am assuming we are not the only people who have been through this fiasco ?
a very sad daughter

cricket_score

Yes I have suffered over the last few years as a result of the appointment of a deputy by the Court of Protection which the OPG seemed reluctant to assist with the many concerns that I had
One point worth noting is that it seems that the OPG demand that as soon as a deputy is appointed they must take out a bond to protect that deputy from any claims relating to their inappropriate or poor use of clients funds.
I did ask the OPG how I could invoke a claim on this bond when my mother passed away but as always they dont make it easy to progress because my query to the OPG resulted in a letter from HM Courts and Tribunals Service suggesting that I complete their supplied forms COP1 and COP24 and return them with the appropriate fee (can be £400 depending on the cases circumstances)
I decided to forget it because I just wanted closure and after years of concerns with the appointed deputy and very little help from the OPG I didnt feel that there was anything to be gained other than more grief.
I am sorry that this reply is some months after your original post but my concerns were raised again recently when I was finalising all of the paperwork relating to my mothers estate and it reminded me of what grief I had gone through as a result of the appointed deputy.

Skankster

I apologise for the lateness of this post but I have only just begun to explore possible avenues to take on the OPG. My mother passed 3 years ago after suffering with Alzheimer's for many years. My brother was appointed as her deputy after my father passed away 5 years ago, he then helped himself to her money, I had no knowledge of just how much until after her death. I like many others stupidly thought that the OPG would protect her interests, deputies are required to lodge comprehensive yearly financial reports and a final report upon the death of the person they are acting for. My brother provided just one hand written note with very sketchy figures. When I established the extent of his spending, I contacted the OPG and was told that as my mother had died it was no longer their responsibility! I spoke with fraud officers who told me that the police would be unlikely to act as it was a civil matter. With no other options available; I instructed a solicitor and after spending thousands of pounds I am no nearer to resolving the matter. Luckily there is a property that will repay my share of my inheritance but it is likely to be several months before this horrible experience will end and I can move on. The issue I have is that the OPG take money to establish the deputyship, charge a yearly fee for 'supervision' and a security bond. It seems to me that there is no real supervision even when deputies fail to provider yearly statements. If there is no come back for unscrupulous deputies they will continue to get away with it and cause distress for families who have little recourse. I intend to press the OPG on the issue and would like to join forces with others who have suffered from the lack of support from the OPG. I am sure that there are many others who have similar experiences to mine, the system needs to change!

SeniorSam

Although I cannot contribute to a suitable method of sorting these horrible matters out, I do wish you all the very best in getting together to challenge the OPG. Such very poor administration in a matter where a person needs to be cared for and their assets protected, quite obviously need to be looked into and those responsible brought to book.

Challenging a local MP may be one way, as they are 'supposed to' be looking after the interests of their constituents. Press investigation could also be another avenue. Programs like Watchdog, or would they find it to laborious a task?

In any event, the more of you who can get together to challenge this deplorable set up, the better, as it would appear that the arrangements are in place for everyone to 'pass the buck' and simply say, 'it's not my responsibility. Even the Police have a 'cop out' so that they needen't bother with what could very easily be fraudulent.

Good luck to you all.

Skankster

Thank you for your comments SeniorSam, I intend to go through the OPG official channels and if that fails then I believed the press and other media would be interested in the complete inefficiencies of a government agency that was put in place to protect the vulnerable. Had my mother still been alive my brother would be facing criminal charges. Just because the victim of a crime has passed on should not allow the perpetrators to escape justice. The system is flawed and needs to be put right so that families are protected from potential fraud or other financial abuse. I understand that the OPG are understaffed and underfunded but that doesn't give them an excuse to fail the people they are there to protect even after death; as this is precisely the time that most abuse comes to light. My campaign is just starting, I hope that people who have had a similar experience will share their story with me to bring weight and strength to make change possible.

Skankster

I feel I should make clear that contrary to my comments I am not seeking vengeance on my brother, rather that I feel let down by the system, when I knew what he had done and told the OPG they wouldn't even discuss it with me as I had no legal authority to act on my late mother's behalf. What information I did get was given under the freedom of information act and took weeks to obtain.

g6jns_2

Skankster wrote: »

I feel I should make clear that contrary to my comments I am not seeking vengeance on my brother, rather that I feel let down by the system, when I knew what he had done and told the OPG they wouldn't even discuss it with me as I had no legal authority to act on my late mother's behalf. What information I did get was given under the freedom of information act and took weeks to obtain.

Taking it up with your MP is likely to be the only thing you can do.