Bill received after estate settled

smartpicture

I think the month's notice is normal, it happened to my gran in council accommodation - otherwise the council or whoever would be out of pocket every time someone died?

Lizbef_2

daska wrote: »

4 months isn't that long for winding up an estate (we're just finishing the last of the paperwork for my mum who died last April) but it does seem a long time for a bill to be presented given that he was a resident and they therefore knew the date of death! Having said that I don't think I would have relied on 'not hearing' I would have wanted it in writing that there were no bills outstanding. FWIW It's not unusual for 'notice' to be charged for, you'd have had to pay that if he'd been in rented accommodation, the premise being that although he didn't plan his date of death it's unreasonable that other people should suffer financial loss as a result of the contract suddenly coming to an end.

I do agree that I should have checked back but grief does strange things to 'normal' people! I was dealing with the potential end of my marriage, a useless brother who left everything to do with the estate to me, my guilt at being away when Dad died plus holding down a full-time job! None of that is of course of any concern to BUPA and I agree it isn't unusual for notice to be charged BUT as you say, he was a longterm resident and I would have expected to receive any outstanding bill well before this time!

daska

Just to clarify, most contracts have a clause which stipulates how long the contract lasts and/or what notice has to be given for changes to the contract including termination. In the case of flats, houses or, as in this case, rooms in care homes the the running costs that are incurred 365 days a year (roof, boiler, insurance etc) are factored into the rent with the voids being partially covered by the notice period so that the landlords and carehomes have the opportunity to find new occupants. Care homes particularly have a high turnover of residents and to expect them to take a financial hit every time someone dies and the room stands empty would be unreasonable but the only other option is to load those costs on to the monthly fees which would unfairly hit those who live there for longest. I grant you it seems to be heartless but actually it's fairer than the alternative.

daska

Lizbef wrote: »

I do agree that I should have checked back but grief does strange things to 'normal' people! I was dealing with the potential end of my marriage, a useless brother who left everything to do with the estate to me, my guilt at being away when Dad died plus holding down a full-time job! None of that is of course of any concern to BUPA and I agree it isn't unusual for notice to be charged BUT as you say, he was a longterm resident and I would have expected to receive any outstanding bill well before this time!

I quite agree, and sorry, I should have said, I do sympathise. 4 months is a very long time for a final bill to be prepared given that he was living there and that they will be dealing with this kind of situation very regularly. I do think a complaint is in order.

pelirocco

smartpicture wrote: »

I think the month's notice is normal, it happened to my gran in council accommodation - otherwise the council or whoever would be out of pocket every time someone died?

They move new people in pretty quick

But you would expect their to be a reduction in the fee they charge for the notice period ....after all there will be parts of the ' services provided' not used ..........Challenge it

N.I.M

I havent seen the contract so I can't advise as such HOWEVER as he died in the carehome they would have known he died as staff will have had to tell you, be involved in the removal of his body to the funeral home etc. therefore they must surely be considered to have had constructive notice of his death so tbh I'm not sure they are entitled to a penny from you. Of course this is all conjecture and the advice is worth less than you paid me for it so check it with a properly qualified person with whom you can fully explain the details (yes I am covering myself just in case).

So speak to the CAB or a solicitor about it and see what they say, as its a care home I suspect this "in lieu of notice" term should be severable. Failing that I would suggest you say the delay was unreasonable. Of course I would also go to any radio station / paper / media outlet that will listen to you and tell them about this. The last thing a private care home needs is bad publicity. This kind of behaviour is morally reprehensible.

daska

pelirocco wrote: »

They move new people in pretty quick

But you would expect their to be a reduction in the fee they charge for the notice period ....after all there will be parts of the ' services provided' not used ..........Challenge it

Yes they do and there will but, on the other hand there are presumably other costs that might or will be incurred which wouldn't be ongoing. e.g. clearing out belongings (not every deceased person has family/friends who will do that), advertising, administration etc.

meritaten

If you paid two months in advance (on a sort of trial basis) and the home kept the months payment - to demand more money in lieu of notice is in my view unreasonable. I would bet that the room was occupied again within that time - so if BUPA claim that its to prevent them being 'out of pocket' I doubt that would apply.
I simply wouldnt pay it unless I was forced by a court to.

Pollycat

Lizbef
sorry to hear about your Dad, mine died in September last year too.

If you feel up to it, I would take the advice you've been given and fight this.

My Dad was in a care home, I don't know if was a 'private' home, I think the local council used it and my Dad was self funded.

His stay there was permanent (he had Dementia) but he was only there for 7 weeks before he died (in the home).

I took care of all the bills as my Mum wasn't up to it.

Although Dad was self-funded, because his savings were tied up in a fixed term bond (and inaccessible when he went into the home), the County Council were paying for part of his care with the expectation that when the bond matured he would pay them back.
The other part of his care was paid out of his pensions and benefits.

So we had 2 places to deal with about his care fees when he died - County Council & the Care Home.
I chased both places for final invoices and paid the final amounts due to them around 19th October - less than 6 weeks after Dad had died.

There was no mention of giving notice at the home or fees in lieu of notice.

I can totally understand your distress at receiving a demand for £2K at this stage - I know exactly how my Mum, me and my sisters would feel in the same circumstances.

Even if you have to pay this money in the end, I hope you make them fight to get it.
Make the letter very, very 'stiff' indeed.

Do keep us informed about how you go on.

Biggles

It's not unusual for make a payment in lieu of notice though, as mentioned above, this is normally taken care of by means of taking the monthly payment in advance and holding money in hand - let's face it, going to the deceased's family for more cash is hardly likely to be a popular measure and, depending on his/her finances, not always possible.

I'd be inclined, once you have had time to recover from the shock, to talk again to the manager and remind her of what she told you four months ago and ask her to find out what's gone wrong. It's always possible there was a miscalculation as a result of a misunderstanding between her and BUPA's accounts people.