Late respite bill

treecol

Registered User
Mar 22, 2013
220
0
I posted a couple of months ago re a very delayed bill for respite my late Dad had whilst we all moved house last year. His stay was for 6 weeks & the care home sent an invoice for his part of the bill - he wasn't self funding so only paid £160 per week. The care home have very kindly agreed they should have dealt with it when he was alive & waived the bill.
But now I've had a call from SS saying they need to do a financial assessment for him re his respite stay. They know he passed away but say they are behind on it (just a bit I'd say). I know only 4 weeks of it were counted a respite so I don't know how they'll work out the other 2. So advice please! I don't want to accept liability - I didn't think I'd filled any forms in before his stay & don't want to now. Apparently they will do it over the phone on Monday - so what do I do? They want all his financial info for the time he went in.
 

lin1

Registered User
Jan 14, 2010
9,350
0
East Kent
I am sorry I can't help . Wanted to give your post a bump .
I am probably being rather dim but surely SS did a financial assessment before dad went in for respite , I can't see why they would need to do another one especially so long after you lost your Dad ,as I said earlier I am probably being rather dim.
This must have knocked you for six
XXX
 
Last edited:

Gigglemore

Registered User
Oct 18, 2013
526
0
British Isles
Are you the Executrix of your Dad's estate? If not, politely refer them to whoever is, explaining that you do not have the information to help them.

I think it is very bad of them to be bothering you now just because they failed to do their job at the right time and I would be tempted not to answer the phone on Monday if you don't feel up to it, but maybe I'm just awkward. Plenty of carers get ignored and have to chase and hound, so maybe give them a bit of their own medicine?

So sorry you are having to deal with this.
 

Kevinl

Registered User
Aug 24, 2013
6,053
0
Salford
I'd avoid doing it over the phone unless you record it and tell them you're doing so just to be on the safe side. If you inadvertently say something (I won't say get tricked into) then you might regret it later. Personally I'd insist in doing it in writing or by e-mail and see if there attitude changes when they start to leave a paper trail (AKA evidence).
It has always seemed to me that a lot of the inaccurate information is given either face to face (and there's usually 2 of them) or over the phone never in writing specially where money is involved.
K
 

treecol

Registered User
Mar 22, 2013
220
0
I'm executor. Apart from dad's house which he left to DH & I, it's been our home with him for the 3 years we cared for him & we still live there, there is no other money from his estate. I've got a feeling, no assessment was done for him at the time as it was a bit of a rush to get him in before we all moved.
What's likely to happen if I ask them to send a form to fill in & then refuse, saying it should have been done at the time?
 

treecol

Registered User
Mar 22, 2013
220
0
I was just talking to DH & although we had to sign some forms with the care home before he went in (as I said they have wonderfully waived the bill) we really can't recall signing anything with the SW before hand. It was quite a rush as we were about to exchange & complete on the house sale & didn't want dad involved in all the stress of the move so SS arranged everything over the phone with a care home he'd been to before.
I think the reason they need to do an assessment is because they didn't at the time. But also I think that he ended up staying longer than he had weeks of respite left. So I wonder if they really can expect to do it 10 months after he had respite & 6 months after he died. I wonder where I stand legally?
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,075
0
Bury
"I wonder where I stand legally?"

Get legal advice from CAB or similar before you do or say anything.

IANAL but I think that unless you placed a notice in the London Gazette
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/wills-and-probate
if the LA can prove amount owed it will have to be paid somehow or other from the estate which i believe was a house.
 

treecol

Registered User
Mar 22, 2013
220
0
I'm completely stunned after the phone call today from SS. they are treating the last 2 weeks of his stay as temporary care, which would mean a smaller contribution from dad. However as he has passed away, they went through the exemption from fees form & will not be asking us for a penny due to the fact he has died & they are late in their assessment. What a positive result. I wonder how many other people who receive bills so late after their loved ones were in care & they've since passed away may not have to pay bills? Worth checking, I think.
 

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