Scam? Move to Appello Careline from NRS

Ian601256

NRS went bankrupt on 1st August and my mum was informed that Appello would seamlessly take over the operation. Apparently Appello had always provided the service under contract to NRS. For my mum, NRS also provided a responder service for an additional £12 per month, so £38.98 in total. I rang Appello in August to confirm that since they were not offering a responder service they would now be charging £26.98. After consulting a supervisor they agreed this was correct. After not hearing anything for several weeks I rang again to find out what was happening. I was told we would be contacted before the end of November. Again I confirmed the fee would be as above.
Today my mum has received a contract saying that as we have provided billing details they will collect the outstanding payments and then monthly. Guess what they are charging? £38.98.
I will get onto them tomorrow. My big concern is that many of their customers (who are of course vulnerable) will not realise/remember that they will be paying for a service they will not not receive. So if you know anyone who may be affected by this, please let them know! Note that NRS were also providing fall pendants, smoke sensors etc in their careline scheme.

whatsthenews

Just wondering if your mother's LA offer a similar service? My parents had Care connect via the LA . The service included pendant or bracelet and team to attend with the "magic cushion" (as my dear dad called it ) in case of a fall. I think it was around £5 per week. They also offered a falls sensor worn on the body . It detected a sudden downward movement and raised the alarm.  

Savvy_Sue

Definitely worth checking with the local authority, although they may also have contracted the service out.

Ian601256

Savvy_Sue said:

Definitely worth checking with the local authority, although they may also have contracted the service out.

North Yorkshire council do have a telecare service, but they dont have responders, they will just phone relatives or 999. Their telecare service is about £33 per month, so more than Appello (if they charge the right price!) I think the service is contracted out too.

Savvy_Sue

Ian601256 said:

Savvy_Sue said:

Definitely worth checking with the local authority, although they may also have contracted the service out.

North Yorkshire council do have a telecare service, but they dont have responders, they will just phone relatives or 999. Their telecare service is about £33 per month, so more than Appello (if they charge the right price!) I think the service is contracted out too.

That relatives or 999 is what my mum had. I think she arranged it through LA, but it was provided by Sovereign. However, that's all a long time ago now ...