Law firm boosted by retrospective care home fee rush

Manchester lawyer Andrew Farley is spearheading a campaign to encourage families across the UK to fight for retrospective care home fees which should have been funded by the NHS.

Manchester company Farley Dwek has just settled a case worth an estimated £80,000.

The team is currently working on more than 100 cases representing families across the UK who’ve been forced into debt to fund care home places for ill relatives. The company believes thousands more families in the North West could have cases.

Relatives of current and former care home residents who have been wrongly charged for care home places have just six weeks to lodge a claim to receive their money back from the NHS.

In June 2012 care home fee reclaims made up 20 per cent of the companies case loads compared to just 5 per cent in June 2011.

Andrew Farley, director at Farley Dwek, said:

“Often people aren’t made aware of funding rules when their loved ones go into care. Many people just haven’t realised the NHS should be funding places. Thankfully word is getting around and people are becoming increasingly aware of their right to lodge a claim. If someone is in care and their needs are primarily health based they should be receiving funding from the NHS, not paying out of their own pockets regardless of their financial means.

“The clock is ticking though and we’re being inundated with calls from people unsure if they have a claim. We’ve set up a dedicated helpline to advise people who’ve been paying care fees. We are helping those who have wrongly paid money get it back. If we can’t help – it won’t cost a penny.”

It is estimated that 155,000 people or 41 per cent of care home residents are self-funders with fees averaging £25,000 a year. It is estimated as many as 100,000 people are eligible to reclaim.

Farley Dwek is a Manchester company specialising in care fee reclaims, personal injury cases and PPI claims.