Care home under charged fees, what now??

leona71

Hope someone can advise a little? My Mum and Dad are in a difficult situation just now, my Grandma is in a care home and she pays for some of her care out of her pension. Well the care home was taken over by another Company a year ago and since then they have been deducting the wrong amount. Mum just received a bill this morning saying she has to pay back £2800 asap or else they will take her to court/debt collectors etc.

My Mum and Dad are on Income Support, they own their own home but they are terrified that people are going to come to the door and take away their possessions.

My Gran only had a few hundred in her bank account so cannot pay this outstanding debt. The care home says it has to be paid one way or the other and my Mum is in charge of her finances.

What can they do about this debt. It was their mistake, they should have notified my Gran or Mum ages ago about the shortfall but no they waited a whole year.

Great if you can help???

Leona

Oldernotwiser

Does your Grandmother own her own home? Where would the money have come from if they'd notified your family at the time rather than letting it mount up? Who pays the rest of the fees not covered by the pension?
Sorry for all the questions.

leona71

Thanks for replying...

She has no home, she stayed in a rented Council house and was on Income Support for years due to ill health and low income. She has no partner.

The money come straight from her bank account by direct debit but instead of say taking £800 a month they only took £500 so the money was mounting up. My Grandma pays for her fees by her pensions and the Government pays the rest. They are now saying my Grandma needs to pay £2800 in fees owed as they were taking off too little.

My Mum has to pay for her haircuts/toiletries and general day to day things, she does this out of her savings.

The Care Home new owner has been there a year and took off less than what they should have and are now demanding the money which my Grandma does not have. They can't get blood out of a stone but i'm worried my poor Gran will get thrown out of the home she's in. It will kill her....

Leona

dmg24

Did no one notice that the correct money was not coming out of the account?

Unfortunately, if they can prove the debt, then she is liable. However, it would only be reasonable for them to allow the repayment to be in instalments.

Could I ask what has happened to the money that should have been taken from the account?

Oldernotwiser

Surely the £300 (difference between £500 and £800 per month) is still there to be paid over? Are you saying that the arrears are more than the money that's left?