Elderly and vulnerable people in south-east England have told the BBC how they lost control of their money and property after dealing with a law firm based in Essex. They described how they were persuaded – and sometimes felt under pressure – to grant lasting power of attorney (LPA) to a man called Ron Hiller, a partner in the firm. LPA is a legal agreement in which someone appoints an “attorney” to make decisions on their behalf, either for finance or health and welfare.
Attorneys are supposed to act in their clients’ best interests. But we investigated 30 cases involving Mr Hiller and his firm, Craybeck Law, and found a disturbing pattern of events:
* People found they had no access to their bank accounts and no idea how much Mr Hiller was charging for being their attorney
* Large amounts of cash were withdrawn without a reasonable explanation
* Properties were sold for what owners and others considered was lower than market value, and possessions were cleared and disposed of without owners’ knowledge or informed consent
There has been a massive rise in LPAs in England and Wales in recent years. In 2023, more than one million people registered – a rise of 37% on the year before.
Carole was in her 60s, living alone in a house in Uxbridge, west London. In April 2022 she was admitted to hospital with an infection. She never came back. Her friends and neighbours, Bert and Hazel, wanted to visit her in hospital but Covid restrictions were in place. Then the hospital told them she had been transferred to a care home.
Within months, Carole’s house had been completely cleared out and sold for £355,000 – a low price, the neighbours thought, considering other houses in the street were fetching up to half a million.
Craybeck Law said that the firm was governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) rules and principles, including strict conduct and ethical guidelines that it upheld. It said that much of what had been put to it was inaccurate and based on second- or third-hand hearsay and that it fully refuted the insinuations made about the way it supported its clients.
The SRA has now confirmed it is looking into allegations made in this article.
Carole has now moved out of the care home in Rickmansworth, and into a small flat in Folkestone near her cousin Sandy. She has the added work and expense of buying all the basics for her new home, because Ron Hiller disposed of all her furniture and most of her possessions. However, she is happy to be making a fresh start.
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