Hi All
I could really do with some advice. Don't think I'll sleep tonight.
My mum has advanced dementia and has been in a Care Home since 2018. I sold her house late 2018 and informed the council literally on the day the contracts exchanged. However, the council never put up her fees to full fee paying as they should have. I did chase this up a number of times (maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut rather than being honest ). I also chased it up with the Care Home direct but they said they could only charge me what the council told them to. Nobody is disputing that the council has made an error and that I have informed them of changes etc and that I have asked them to charge the correct amount.
Today, I received a phone call from the Council informing me that they expect me to pay back (on my mum's behalf) £40,000 which they say is what is owed! I am presuming that is the difference between the full fee and what she has paid but that is a lot more than I expected.
I am wondering if anyone knows the legal position on this? If it is legally the case that I should pay the £40,000 (if that amount is a correct calculation) then I obviously will pay it out of my mum's savings. But equally, I don't want to pay that amount out if it isn't legally right to do so as I've always tried to do the right thing. They wouldn't give me a breakdown of their workings out on the phone and said it might be Friday before I receive the letter - which is a long time to worry! I've Googled about being billed incorrectly and in general law, apparently, you can't be back charged if the fault is on the side of the other person who sends the bill. But that is in the situation of more general things (like getting your car fixed). Local councils may have a different set of legal stuff.
I'm going to take legal advice obviously and then follow that but if anyone knows anything it might help me sleep easier in the meantime. Thanks
I could really do with some advice. Don't think I'll sleep tonight.
My mum has advanced dementia and has been in a Care Home since 2018. I sold her house late 2018 and informed the council literally on the day the contracts exchanged. However, the council never put up her fees to full fee paying as they should have. I did chase this up a number of times (maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut rather than being honest ). I also chased it up with the Care Home direct but they said they could only charge me what the council told them to. Nobody is disputing that the council has made an error and that I have informed them of changes etc and that I have asked them to charge the correct amount.
Today, I received a phone call from the Council informing me that they expect me to pay back (on my mum's behalf) £40,000 which they say is what is owed! I am presuming that is the difference between the full fee and what she has paid but that is a lot more than I expected.
I am wondering if anyone knows the legal position on this? If it is legally the case that I should pay the £40,000 (if that amount is a correct calculation) then I obviously will pay it out of my mum's savings. But equally, I don't want to pay that amount out if it isn't legally right to do so as I've always tried to do the right thing. They wouldn't give me a breakdown of their workings out on the phone and said it might be Friday before I receive the letter - which is a long time to worry! I've Googled about being billed incorrectly and in general law, apparently, you can't be back charged if the fault is on the side of the other person who sends the bill. But that is in the situation of more general things (like getting your car fixed). Local councils may have a different set of legal stuff.
I'm going to take legal advice obviously and then follow that but if anyone knows anything it might help me sleep easier in the meantime. Thanks