Invoice from Care Home 2yrs after mum died?

BungleGirl

I received a letter today informing me of unpaid invoices outstanding to the value of £132.77 from the care home that my mum resided in up until she died 2 years and 4 months ago.

Firstly, I'm really upset to have received this letter out of the blue, having heard nothing from them since mum died - how can a care home (Barchester) have left it this long, surely they must have a procedure for dealing with accounts after a resident passes away and surely it must involve sending a final invoice and closing the account within a reasonable time of the resident passing away?

Secondly, am I obliged to settle the invoice? Mum didn't have much money when she died and no property or shares so probate was not required and it was split between my sister and I. I don't have a problem paying but after receiving such an insensitive letter so long after mum died, I really don't want to pay it if I am not legally required to.

I have contacted their head office to express how upsetting it was to receive this letter so long after mum died and am waiting for somebody to call me back - I feel that they need to know that this has happened and make sure that these things don't get left so long in the future.

BG

pmlindyloo

Legally it is a debt that should have been settled before any inheritance was paid out.

Did you contact the care home to check whether there were any monies owed? If you did and have evidence of there not being any outstanding debt then they should 'write this off' as it was their mistake.

If you didn't do this then the first thing you need to do is ask for a breakdown of the outstanding invoices (seems a strange amount, by the way) and then check to see if 1) they were paid and 2) if they are correct.

If this money is owing then you and your sister should pay it back.

I suspect that the care home has been audited and this money has come to light.

It is very insensitive so hopefully it will be written off in a gesture of goodwill.

BungleGirl

Thanks for your reply. I had a call back and was told that they wrote to me about it in November 2010, this was for things like chiropody, toiletries etc. It's such a long time ago that I really can't remember if I received a letter or not - it was a very difficult time, my mum had a very rare genetic form of Alzheimer's disease and was only 50 when she moved into the care home. I said that they had not contacted me about it since my mum died in January 2012 and as she died whilst living there it seemed reasonable to assume that they knew that she had died and would have sent an invoice soon afterwards. They are going to look at the archive file and get back to me and I've asked for them to respond to me in writing.

It was just a shock to open the letter so long after mum died and it's made me a bit emotional.

growler834

Are they saying that the invoice is for services & items provided to your mum prior to November 2010 yet she still resided with them until her death over 2 years later & they did not chase you up for the payment in between times?
I too suspect that their accounts have been audited & it appears that an invoice has not been paid. This means that either you paid it at the time & they haven't updated their accounts or they failed to chase you up for it over the last 3+ years. I assume the care home has 'personal accounts' for each resident - in which case how did they not realise there was an outstanding bill in between 2010 & 2012 or realise once closing your mum's account after her death? I would certainly be asking for all records of her personal account for the time she was resident & I would go back through mum's bank account etc (if you have them due to POA or from dealing with probate etc) to see if you paid such an amount in 2010/2011. It is certainly bad book keeping on their part & if it has slipped through the net I would hope they would write it off.

John_Pierpoint

BungleGirl wrote: »

I received a letter today informing me of unpaid invoices outstanding to the value of £132.77 from the care home that my mum resided in up until she died 2 years and 4 months ago.

Firstly, I'm really upset to have received this letter out of the blue, having heard nothing from them since mum died - how can a care home (Barchester) have left it this long, surely they must have a procedure for dealing with accounts after a resident passes away and surely it must involve sending a final invoice and closing the account within a reasonable time of the resident passing away?

I have contacted their head office to express how upsetting it was to receive this letter so long after mum died and am waiting for somebody to call me back - I feel that they need to know that this has happened and make sure that these things don't get left so long in the future.

BG

Ouch!

Who was the executor/administrator (or possibly next of kin) that sorted out the estate?

Did they advertise for creditors in the relevant jurisdiction?
For example
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=London+gazette

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/wills-and-probate

If they did the creditor might well have missed they chance to be paid, unless they want to try to trace the estate down to the beneficiaries and go after them.

If the executors/administrators did not place such a notice, they remain liable for 5 - 6 years, and this is their problem. If this debt is acknowledged then the 5-6 years could start again.

Normally a contract is cancelled from the date of death but possible someone like you signed something to become a party jointly and severally liable to the contract ?

BobQ

I suspect from the original post that the OP would not have advertised in the London Gazette.

Strictly if the debt is valid then the executors are required to pay. If you want to sort it out for an easy life then pay up.

However, personally, in view of their inefficiency, I would have some fun with them by continually writing back to them asking for evidence that the debt is valid without actually refusing to pay. Ask them for an itemised list of all the expenditure, for dates on which it was incurred, proof that the chiropodist invoiced them for the service etc. They may just decide its not worth the effort.

Of course if they can produce such evidence it is only fair that you pay it.

jackyann

I was chased up for an "outstanding debt" by a college I attended - it was audited when it was taken over by a university, and the discrepancy came to light 5 years after I had attended.

It was so long that I no longer had proof that I had paid the fees (some thousands!).
My bank had actually said that they could retrieve records form the archives, but would charge me considerably to do so. However, a friend who "knows stuff" suggested I write and say that had paid and ask them for evidence that I hadn't.
They simply wrote back and said the matter was closed - I've been told that's what often happens during an audit - things just have to be officially "written off".

It is different from your situation, but I hope that your letter is enough to get this "written off".