DWF Reclaim
When providing great social care doesn’t mean writing off debt
Of course, the provision of this care is right and proper. However, there is no doubt that in today’s financial climate, in which local authorities are under unprecedented financial pressure, continued non-payment by the care receiver can have dire consequences for every local authority. An estimated national debt of £500 million owed to the public purse in respect of residential care charges alone, puts the problem in some context.
What should local authorities do?
When you find yourself delivering care without receiving the funds that the recipient is legally obliged to pay, you can initiate your internal debt recovery process, which may resolve some cases. However, the escalating debts local authorities are facing suggest further action is warranted.
Historically, many local authorities have shied away from taking that further action, hence the ever increasing level of national debt. With these sensitivities surrounding the process, it’s no surprise that unpaid care charges often exceed the six year limitation period, with the result that the debt must simply be written off.
DWF Reclaim delivers:
- A free of charge, initial consultation to understand the issues you are currently facing with regards social care debt, and determine how we might help you with them
- Where required, a full review of your internal processes in relation to social care debt recovery to implement improvements – we’ll give you clear recommendations on how to improve your processes
- We agree a list of cases with you that we will work on, depending on where you want us to focus our efforts
- End to end management of these cases, including sensitive management of messages where required, keeping you informed of progress in a way and at a frequency that suits you
- A transparent and competitive pricing structure that reflects the work we do and the results we achieve for you
Caroline Sanders
- Partner
