Mum Gone Into Care Home

[CaptainChaos]

Hi guys,

My Mum has been in a Care Home for her safety for nearly 4 months as it wasn't safe for her in her RENTED house due to her mobility issues / mild demantia.

Sadly, she will not be going back to her rented house, so I need to give her landlady notice & stop all of the utility bills/direct debits/council tax direct debits.

We have cleared the house of pretty much everything, my wife is going in to clean the house as much as she can.

Should I just go to the bank to cancel ALL of the direct debits (gas/electricity/water/phone/council tax) and then wait for the letters to arrive, or should I contact all of the above companies to say that she hasn't been there for 4 months & won't be going back?

Should I take meter readings & switch the central heating off (the landlady phoned me requesting the heating be left on so damp wouldn't be an issue) or leave it running at a very low level?

Any advice will be gratefully received, as it I really need to stop my Mum paying everything with the prices of the Care Home.

Thanks
Ian I.

[ostell]

I would suggest writing to everyone. Just a simple letter. If you now have power of attorney mention it to make life easier. For water and council tax specifically tell them that the house is empty as they may continue to charge. Take gas and electric readings and include them with the letter. You could name the landlady as the person taking over.

Give it a couple of days for the letters to arrive and then cancel the DDs, or alternatively just close the account if feasible. Every thing settled within 10 day, apart from Virgin Media. Hope the phone is not with Virgin ! Just had a horrendous 2 months trying to cancel an account as an executor. Compensation cheques arrived this morning.

[CaptainChaos]

Thank you Ostell .....

So, if I've got this right, I should write letters to British Gas, Southern Electric, TalkTalk, Wessex/Bristol Water & North Somerset Council to say "do not charge any more, as my mother is no longer living at that address" or something along those lines?

Yes, I have Power of Attorney for Health & Finance, as long as they don't start chasing Me for anything owed, because I really can't afford anything extra right now hahahahaha

[lgfa92]

As soon as the decision is made that she won't be returning to the house a Class E council tax exemption will apply from that point onwards to cover any charge due to the end of the tenancy.

[slainte caragh]

If you contact all the utilities providers and advise them she is in a care home and is not likely to return.

Provide meter readings, DO NOT let them close on estimates as they are swines when it comes to sorting out mistakes, and inform the council she has left.

Cancelling DDs does not cancel an agreement and the companies can charge you up until you leave them, if they wish to be bloody awkward!

Talk Talk, good luck! I would suggest writing a letter and having Mum sign it to say she agrees, they are swines for saying "But we didn't speak to the account holder!"

Another way is call them whilst sitting with Mum and simply hand her to phone to give permission. They can't argue with that one!

[enaid]

As a side your mum living on her own with Dementia should have been disregarded for Council Tax anyway, if you can get a letter from your GP or the home she is in they may well back date any refund.
Disregards

Disregards apply to people living in the property. Some people are disregarded and become invisible for council tax purposes. So, for example, if one of two occupants is disregarded, it will be as if the other person lives alone, and they will get a 25% single person’s discount on their council tax.

There are different types of disregards based on the reasons for them. The different types of disregards are important because of how they affect exemptions (see below).

A person with dementia may be disregarded if they are severely mentally impaired. This applies to anyone who meets all of the following criteria:

• has a severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning which appears to be permanent
• has a certificate confirming this impairment from a registered medical practitioner, usually the person’s GP or consultant
• is entitled to certain disability benefits - the most common qualifying benefits are Attendance allowance (lower or higher rate), Disability living allowance (higher or middle rate care components) and Personal independence payment (lower or higher rate of the daily living component).

Many people with dementia meet all three criteria, so are disregarded under the severe mental impairment rules.

[ostell]

I suggests cancelling DDs as it is sometimes (VM springs to mind!) difficult to get the money back.

[lgfa92]

As the sole resident, if she meets the criteria to be disregarded as SMI (see post #6) then a Class U exemption should be applied for. Also note the key aspect of the benefit qualification criteria, it only requires entitlement, not just actual payment. A Dr needs to certify that the mental impairment meets the relevant criteria.

The local authority have no excuse for not backdating any disregard (and the relevant discount/exemption) - they may well try to work around paying it but, providing the qualification criteria are met, they have no reason for not paying. Backdating is one of the things that local authorities hate to do and it accounts for quite a few of the cases which end up at tribunal, these case are generally winnable with the right arguments. (google something like 'severely mentally impaired backdating' and you should find plenty of different links regarding backdating).

[CaptainChaos]

Thank you everyone so far.

I'm now just writing letters to all of the various companies (gas, electricity, water, phone) to say "close the account, reimburse any money to her account, direct debit will be cancelled, and she will not be going back to her house".

I will deal with the Council shortly, but that's going to be interesting, as her savings are now under the self-funding threshold (of £23,000 apparently), so I will be really busy trying to sort that out - should I write to them now anyway saying "direct debit will be cancelled as she has not been living in the house since August/September 2017 and will not be returning"?

Thanks again
Ian

[lgfa92]

should I write to them now anyway saying "direct debit will be cancelled as she has not been living in the house since August/September 2017 and will not be returning"?

Don't cancel the council tax direct debit - once they have the relevant information they will cease taking any monies and balance up the account. If you end it in the meantime then they will continue to chase the existing payment until the account is updated, if a payment is missed in the meantime due to a direct debit cancellation then they will begin recovery action.

[seduraed]

I would get proof of posting for all the letters . This is free from the post office. If you speak to anyone on the phone record the call. Let them know you are recording.

[CaptainChaos]

I sent all of the Utility company letters recorder delivery

When I send the Landlady the notice letter (on Saturday) so she receives it before the end of the month, my wife will go through the house & give it a damn good clean!!

[CaptainChaos]

The landlady received my "letter of notice" on Monday & phoned me up & said thatr my mum & her partner (died in March last year) had a contract where they agreed to get the carpets/curtains/garden/everything professionally cleaned ARRGGGHHH ... the carpet is a bit stained (after 8 years with old people in the house) and near the patio door, the carpet is worn, so what is the point of cleaning it, if it'll need replacing anyway??!!

[Kati]

Peridot enaid ??

[enaid]

The landlady received my "letter of notice" on Monday & phoned me up & said thatr my mum & her partner (died in March last year) had a contract where they agreed to get the carpets/curtains/garden/everything professionally cleaned ARRGGGHHH ... the carpet is a bit stained (after 8 years with old people in the house) and near the patio door, the carpet is worn, so what is the point of cleaning it, if it'll need replacing anyway??!!

May seem pointless but it is the norm when a tenant leaves a property. I would have a google see what they charge etc. If you don't get one yourself and the landlady gets one she will pass on the charge to yourselves. If she is reasonable to deal with then maybe she has a regular cleaning firm and can sort it that way. As for the curtains were they in the house or did they belong to your mum? The garden is also the tenants responsibility but seems as bit harsh to expect the elderly to keep on top of a garden.