After Death Charges by Carehome

[SnowWhite]

If that is what the contract says and no specific clause that post death fees will be charged then charges should include up to and only including the date of death so you are due a refund I would say.

What annoys me so much is that WE are supposed to honour our side of the deal but care homes dont have to.

We were promised that my Mum would go on outings and trips, that there would be plenty of activities, that they would sit out in the garden on nice days, that she would be treated as an individual and her needs would be met. We were told that her whole care package would be centred around her and we would be invited to regular meetings to discuss her care. None of this happened but we paid our bills by standing order every month. We were just fobbed off every time we asked anything.

 

[love.dad.but..]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...g-law-charging-residents-death-says-watchdog/

That highlights the possibly unfair way notice differs even within the same care home., retaining a complete month's fees regardless of when a resident dies. So for a resident who dies on the 30th their estate will pay either for 1 day or none at all..a resident who dies on the 1st will pay the full month. Likewise presumably if as with happened when dad died...the previous resident to die had their room occupied again in 3 days so only 3 days fees retained....no one on the waiting list to replace dad so his estate had 14 days retained.

 

[Nannybus]

My mother died 2011. I paid her fees in advance. At that time they were £2,300 per month. I paid this amount on the 1st, as demanded. She died on the 3rd of the month, but no refund was forthcoming. The contract only covered arrears of fees, not payments in advance. None of my correspondence was answered. Her room was cleared the day she died. Not a word from the Home since.

 

[Kevinl]

If there was absolutely nothing about a notice period in the contract you could or her estate could take it to the small claims court but it's probably too late now. If a solicitor was handling the admin of the estate I think they should have at least written a letter to the home threatening action might have got some reaction. As you're paying in advance how could there even be an arrears in the fees?
K