Home carer company overcharging?

MartinLondonUK1977

Hi all,

I understand this is not the best place for legal advice but would appreciate your thoughts on this.

From early last month, my father started receiving care each day for up to an hour, one session per day.

The company bills all the charges in one monthly invoice. They have separate rates for 30 mins, 45 mins, and one hour with extra for weekends and bank holidays.

We received our first invoice on the 3rd of July for £584. Each day had been billed for an hour, when in fact there were a number of days when the visits were less than 30 and 45 mins.

The total credit value added up over the whole month with the difference of their charges to the expected charge would be £66, over 10% of the value of the invoice.

I sent an email to the care company the following day having gathered stills from our wired ethernet CCTV, with timestamps showing when the carers arrived and left. The CCTV system is fully compliant with regulations, with no audio facilities and CCTV warning stickers in prominent locations, including one by the front door.

I put all the CCTV timestamp data, along with their charge and expected charge, along with copies of all the CCTV stills in a shared Dropbox folder because the files are too large to send by email (400KB a file, 21MB for all of them). I asked for a credit note or an adjusted invoice, whichever was most practical.

There was no response to my email, so I phoned on Friday to chase up on my query. I spoke to the manager there, who had previously come to our house to deliver and sign the contract. At the time she verbally advised that they would be moving over to a flat rate system in due course but did not put it in writing. In the call, she said she would follow up with her colleague and told us not to panic, and would respond Monday.

Tuesday (yesterday), I had not heard anything so I sent a follow-up email. I received a reply today saying that all the times on their system are one hour, which we are contracted for. The charges, therefore, cannot be changed. She said that she would make sure that the carers stay the full hour.

Now, about the contract. It reads:

"You are liable to pay <COMPANY> fees as provided for in this Clause and as set out in Schedule 2 to this agreement. We will calculate our fees for the provision of services based on a fixed price per visit as set out in Schedule 2."

Schedule 2 reads:

"Hourly rates:
Weekdays: £22 an hour, £20 for 45 mins, £18 for 30 mins
Weekends: £24 for an hour, £22 for 45 mins, £30 for 30 mins
Double for bank holidays."

Now, I am not an expert here but they saying that the charges cannot be changed when we have clear CCTV stills showing the correct times, (along with video recordings, if needed) that would be admissible in court in scenarios where the disputed amounts would be higher. This is only £66 that is disputed, so a court scenario is unlikely.

If we wanted to move to another company, the termination period is 14 days. The invoice is currently unpaid, dated 3rd July, and is payable according to the signed contract in 14 days. However, the due date on the invoice is 3rd July.

What do you think? I think I am in the clear, that they are not honouring their contract as it stands? What if this were to be replicated over a year? That would make a whole year's worth of charges. Not really fair is it?

MartinLondonUK1977

Sorry, a correction. The line for rates 'Weekends: £24 for an hour, £22 for 45 mins, £30 for 30 mins' should read Weekends: £24 for an hour, £22 for 45 mins, £20 for 30 mins'

Alderbank

What do I think?

I think the only place to get legal advice is from a solicitor. 
It might not be the best advice but solicitors' advice is protected by professional insurance to protect you if it is incorrect and you suffer loss as a result.

What you will get here is opinions, often from people who have experienced the same issue and sometimes from people who do give professional advice as their dayjob.

You need to tell us all the terms and conditions about the contract, in particular what is said about travel time. 

It is reasonable that a time-based contract whether for a carer or a plumber includes the time to get to your premises.

MartinLondonUK1977

Alderbank said:

What do I think?

I think the only place to get legal advice is from a solicitor. 
It might not be the best advice but solicitors' advice is protected by professional insurance to protect you if it is incorrect and you suffer loss as a result.

What you will get here is opinions, often from people who have experienced the same issue and sometimes from people who do give professional advice as their dayjob.

You need to tell us all the terms and conditions about the contract, in particular what is said about travel time. 

It is reasonable that a time-based contract whether for a carer or a plumber includes the time to get to your premises.

Regarding traveling costs, the contract states 'We reserve the right to charge you for our staff's reasonable traveling expenses incurred during the provision of services as set out in Schedule 2."

Schedule 2 states that the cost per mile is £0.45. However, the cost per mile is not charged anywhere on the invoice - only the hourly rate for each day. There is no statement on the invoice to say that each day's charges include travel.

I don't think a solicitor would be viable here because of the disputed amount - £66. In that case, Citizen's Advice might help but they might say the same thing (go to a solicitor).