care home top up fee's

Toevelocity

Hello, I have seen a few threads about this, but my situation is a little different.
My mother has been in a care home for about 13 years, none dementia just wheelchair bound.
I recently found out that she has been paying £30 a week top up fee out of her own money which she can cannot afford.
The question I am asking, is the care home allowed to ask her (the resident) to pay this?
As regards to the third party top up fee nobody has ever asked me to pay or sign anything.
I asked to see the contract about this top up fee and apparently my mother signed this in 2006 not knowing what it was, she has been charged a top up since 2001.
she did have a bit of money left from the house sale, after social services took most of it. she did have savings, but now it has all gone through paying top up fee's. and now she is falling in arrears as the fees out way her personal allowance.
I am sure what is going on is not right, and I would like to get some of this money back for her.
Any advice would be very much appreciated
Thanks

DaveTheMus

If she had no money then surely she shouldn't be paying a top up fee. I'm not certain on that, it just doesn't seem right.

pmlindyloo

Your mother is not allowed to pay the 'top up' fees from her own money. This needs to be done by a third party (if at all)

See here:

http://www.carehome.co.uk/fees/feesadvice.cfm

There seems to have been some kind of mistake made here. You need to contact adult social services in the authority which is paying for the care home and discuss this with them.

Toevelocity

thanks for the replies, I think we are going to have to get some legal advice , coz if the the care home have been acring illegally , we are going to want to get all the money back she paid.

tomtontom

Have you asked what the top up fee actually covers, could it be for sundry items? I would clarify this before taking legal advice.

pmlindyloo

Toevelocity wrote: »

thanks for the replies, I think we are going to have to get some legal advice , coz if the the care home have been acring illegally , we are going to want to get all the money back she paid.

Before you take legal advice you need to get the full facts.

Start with adult social services in the authority that is paying her care home fees. Find out how much the care home fees are and how much they are paying.

Then look at your mum's bank statement and see exactly what is going out and to whom.

You will be wasting money on legal advice if this can be sorted out without their intervention.

The care home will not have arranged this. It will be social services.