Choose your battles carefully.
Some things are better left to conversations than to be put in writing.
For a small cost I prefer to have written statements sent by attorneys.
On the AA forum in USA .....
Hi DLM
I hope you won't mind me saying this, but people who may not realise that you live in the USA may be confused by the terminology you use, and also by the fact that perhaps you may not be in 'touch' with the sensitivities here in the UK, and the way things work here if you want to achieve a result.
Attorney means Lawyer where you live, but here it most often means an appointed Power of Attorney, either via EPA (Enduring Power of Attorney) or via LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney). Those appointed via EPA or LPA are called Attorney here.
But here, a Solicitor (less often called a Lawyer) is the person educated, trained in the law and qualified to practise as a solicitor (or lawyer), and then able to charge £300 per hour (or thereabouts) for their services. And that perhaps would be the 'small cost' equivalent that you mention. It's no small cost here though. It's a big cost - and in this particular case, could cost more than the £299 being demanded (totally unfairly) by a care home manager for a TV that should have been safely secured so that residents would not be endangered.
AA = Attendance Allowance here. (Alternatively, it also stands for Alcoholics Anonymous, but that's less often featured on this particular forum.)
We have perhaps a different culture emerging, whereby people realise that you achieve little that lasts longer than a moment, unless you place your concerns in writing and also request a response in writing. You only need to understand how Terry Bryan was completely ignored when he was reporting serious care concerns, even tho' he put many into emails.
A well-crafted letter, sent by Recorded Delivery or Special Delivery, carries more weight than a polite and gentle conversation, important though they are, but they should not enter the frame of 'legal questions'. But, so often, when push comes to shove ..... you have no choice but to place your concerns in writing.
The care home manager is out of order, making such a demand. And there is no way that it should be paid, by cheque with an accompanying letter. If the original TV cost £800, why is it being replaced with a TV costing £300? The insurance policy would cover full replacement - unless there are clauses in the policy that the original poster doesn't know about ... yet!
It would be far more acceptable for a copy of the Insurance Policy to be presented to the person who has received an outrageous demand for payment.
However the Manager has now sent us the bill for a new telly for £299.00 claiming that his insurance won't cover a new one under the value of £500.00 (old telly was apparently worth £800), and wants Nana to pay for it.
Ozzylou, if the old telly cost £800, that is the sum it would have been insured for. So my letter to the C/H Manager would go along the lines of
"Dear XXXX,
We find ourselves enormously disturbed to discover that our relative was in danger because a TV set was not securely positioned so that it could not be pulled from the shelf.
We are willing to give further consideration to your request for £299 to pay for the new Television set that you have already purchased to replace the damaged TV that cost £800. Of course, we are also pleased to learn that the new TV set is now securely positioned and fastened so that it can no longer endanger the residents.
However, in return, we would ask you to give further consideration to your request also. Please supply a copy of your insurance policy so that we can rest assured that it covers the safety of all residents."
Many other things I could think of adding to that letter - one of which might be to ask what the chosen level of excess is, because otherwise the residents will be at risk of such unacceptable demands in the future.
confused
