Reclaim Care Home Costs for Free- New MSE guide

Doc_N

Angelmessenger wrote: »

Just a rant really but I wonder if anyone else has had this issue..........

.....Bottom Line.....my mum's money is not her own, it belongs to them. The woman's own words...."when it comes from the public purse all funds have to be accounted for." So mum can't have her bits and pieces in storage in case she wants to look over old memories, she can't have new clothes...because the money belongs to the council!!!

Reasonable spending, such as storage and clothes, is fine and should not be regarded as deprivation of assets by the LA. It's all a question of scale and reasonableness, really.

This helps:

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS40_deprivation_of_assets_in_the_means_test_for_care_home_provision_fcs.pdf

Christina23

Hi, thanks to Martin I have managed to reclaim money all without paying someone else to do it! Does anybody know if I would be liable for tax - I assume not but want to be sure....

Mojisola

Angelmessenger wrote: »

The local council assessed her finances and she has paid towards her care since.

However, I was told that when her money wnt below £14,250 she would need to be reassessed as her funds fell below the threashold at which she should pay.

She should have been reassessed for some help when her funds reached £23,250 -

http://www.carehome.co.uk/fees/feesadvice.cfm
Who qualifies for local authority financial assistance?
If you have been assessed as needing a care home place and your capital is below £23,250, you should be entitled to financial support from your local authority. If you have capital below £14,250 you will be entitled to maximum support although you will still contribute your income less £23.90 per week retained for personal expenses. If you have capital between £14,250 and £23,250 you will also pay a capital tariff of £1 per week for each £250 or part thereof between these two figures.

Alice_Walker

Christina23 wrote: »

Hi, thanks to Martin I have managed to reclaim money all without paying someone else to do it! Does anybody know if I would be liable for tax - I assume not but want to be sure....

Martin helped you? That's odd, he sold out many moons ago.

The amount refunded is not taxable, any interest received in addition is subject to tax.

If your reclaim was for care home costs, it would be helpful to others if you could give an overview of the action you took. They're not easy to reclaim, so any experience would be helpful to others in a similar situation.

margf

Christina23 wrote: »

Hi, thanks to Martin I have managed to reclaim money all without paying someone else to do it! Does anybody know if I would be liable for tax - I assume not but want to be sure....

Well done, great to hear of a success story, I am not aware of any tax implications, but hopefully someone more knowledgable will be able to confirm.

Christina23

Hi thanks for your reply. It has taken 4 years and what they actually stumped up for was the costs once she had broken her hip. For the last 4 months of her life, having been admitted to hospital for a couple of weeks they had to visit her every day at the care home and this is pretty much what they paid for. I was not able to claim anything for her care at the care home prior to that although I had tried as she had Alzheimers which I understand to be a medical condition.
Good luck if you are still waiting. I know the deadline was back in 2012 when Martin was at the helm.

Nicky1941

Please don't waste your time trying to claim care home cost, I have been trying for 5 years to no avail, in that time i have had 3 different companys fobbing me off by losing paperwork and I have had to pay for imformation that the NHS already has, now I have got to the point of asking for all my paperwork to be returned, this was 6 weeks ago, my trust in the NHS Department is now nil.

Doc_N

Nicky1941 wrote: »

Please don't waste your time trying to claim care home cost, I have been trying for 5 years to no avail, in that time i have had 3 different companys fobbing me off by losing paperwork and I have had to pay for imformation that the NHS already has, now I have got to the point of asking for all my paperwork to be returned, this was 6 weeks ago, my trust in the NHS Department is now nil.

Several legal firms (I hesitate to use the term solicitors) have pulled out of this 'market' leaving people high and dry.

Others, such as Hugh James, seem to have developed this as a field of particular expertise.

Have you considered going to another firm?

margf

I decided to do this myself, I am not saying it is easy, spent an inordinate amount of time on the claim, the result was a success. I would advise anyone who feels they have a claim to pursue it.

historybuff_2

Just came across this forum.
Before the Sept 2012 deadline I completed paperwork to claim back care home fees for my late father who suffered from multi-infarct dementia. He was placed in a nursing home in Feb 2000 and eventually passed away in Dec 2005. Years passed and after a few brief letters to see how the claim was progressing I eventually received a letter saying that someone was reviewing his case and we would receive information through the post. We received a 60+ document itemising his care (inc hospital visits, GP visits, care home reports etc) and also various levels which they thought applied to him. (Severe, high,etc). I challenged three of these levels and sent my reply back to them. It was put forward to the review panel in Feb 2016 (approx 4yrs later) and we were successful in our claim. We received a letter in March 2016 saying that our claim was successful and that we should send all receipts paid from Apr 2004 until his death in 2005 - which I did. I sent them on 5 Apr 2016 and they were signed for on the 6 Apr. I did ring them to ensure they had received the receipts which they confirmed they had but there was a backlog and I am still waiting for a schedule from the authority telling me exactly how much will be refunded. Is this going to take another 4 years I wonder!!!!!
Should I ring them again as it is now 6 months since the claim was passed as successful.