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mommycare Asked May 2017

Do I have any recourse with my mother's assisted living facility?

I was recently notified that my mother's rent was increased last year and that I had been paying the wrong amount for the past year. The notice came after we discontinued having my mother's meds passed to her. She is capable of taking them herself. The nurse and manager tried hard to dissuade this and made me jump through a lot of hoops. My mom’s doctor was on board so they finally had to comply. Shortly after this change, I was sent a bill saying I had a past due balance. When I asked for itemization of the alleged balance I was told about a year-old rent increase and charges that had previously been waived were now being added back to my bill. The office had previously been notified several times of where to send billing information, it appears that they ignored this request, by claiming to have made delivery of the rent increase letter to my mother’s apartment sometime in 2016, which they have been asked several times not to do. My mother has a designated basket for her mail and I check it regularly; I never saw a rent increase letter. The office then threatened me with collections a week or so later. They have also discontinued laundry service for my mom which was one of the services included in the rental fee, with no explanation and they have lost some of my mother's clothing that was sent out for dry cleaning and they have made no compensation for the lost clothing. I spoke with each manager about this and it remains unresolved. I had a recent meeting with a new manager and the 2016 rent increase, laundry and lost clothing remain unresolved. She did adjust the fees that should not have been added back. Evidently, there had also been a second rent increase that I was unaware of and that was adjusted to start next month since I was never notified. But they still want all of the 2016 increase even though I was not notified until 2017. I also would like the expected laundry service and compensation for the lost clothing. What is my recourse?

freqflyer May 2017
mommycare, curious if the monthly bill came from the same address as the facility where your Dad is living? If the bill comes an other location you might get better results emailing them.

I wasn't able to get the location where my Dad was living to stop giving my Dad a copy of his monthly bill. Please stop. Tried again the next month. No luck. Then I saw an email address for the location where the billing was done, and sent an email to them saying my Dad would get all upset when he saw the bill and would want to move because it cost too much, etc. I got immediate results.

Just keep after the billing department, and keep good notes. After a conversation with them, follow up with an email so you have a paper trail.

JoAnn29 May 2017
Did u see the bill each month for payment? If so, it should have showed a previous total amount (if u didn't pay enough) then the current total and then the balance due. My Mom was billed by the day so each month would be different. If this didn't happen, they r wrong. If u don't have the monthly bills request them.

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JoAnn29 May 2017
I don't understand the med thing. Moms AL had to distribute her meds. She was not allowed them in her room. They give her a cup with the pills. She was capable of taking them herself. But, she paid extra for this service. She was a level 4 which means she could not be responsible for her pills. I got Mom's bills sent to me as POA.

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