Helping someone with a claim

You can ask a friend or relative to help you but unless you give us written permission, we cannot talk to them about your claim. 

There are 2 formal ways of getting help with claims 

• a Power of Attorney (PoA) 

• an appointee 

Power of Attorney (PoA)

If you are a PoA we will need to see the Power of Attorney document. 

You will need to provide us with the: 

• claimants name 

• claim reference (if known) 

• your name, address phone number and email address 

Once we have updated the account, all letters we would normally send to the claimant will be sent to you as PoA and we will be able to discuss the account with you.  

Send us the PoA documents

Appointee

If you are not able to manage your affairs, we can appoint someone to act on your behalf. 

Your appointee must be at least 18 and can be an individual or an organisation. 

If you already have a person who has been appointed by the Department for Work and Pensions, we will also accept them to be your appointee for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reductions. 

An appointee has the same rights and responsibilities as the person claiming. 

The duties include: 

• completing application forms 

• receiving or collecting payments 

• dealing with any correspondence 

• reporting any changes in the claimants circumstances 

• repaying any overpayment of Housing Benefit 

An appointee or the person they act for can ask for the appointment to be cancelled at any time. We can also cancel an appointment at any time without giving reasons. However, in all cases, 4 weeks notice must be given. 

To apply

You'll need to complete the appointee application form[pdf] 331KB and return it to us by post or email.