The family of a man who died of Covid-19 claim they have been left with a care home bill because he didn't warn them of his death in time.
Joseph Dearman died at Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham on April 15 after catching the coronavirus.
The 90-year-old's family told Acer Court Care Home, where the former Boots worker had been a resident, that he had died and collected his property, Nottingham Post reported.
They even donated his brand new wheelchair - worth around £400 - to the home in order to help other frail residents.
Last June the family claim they were horrified to receive a letter from the care home demanding they pay £532, because Mr Dearman had not given 14 days notice before he died.
They claim the care home wanted them to pay from the day he lost his life up to the end of the month, despite Mr Dearman receiving no care during that period - because he was dead.
While the family refused to pay up, last week they say they were contacted again by the care home warning that legal action would be taken if the money was not paid in full.
Daughter Wendy Machen, a 66-year-old from Clifton, broke down in tears when she described the way the family have been treated.
She said there was "a lack of compassion" by the home, which they claim had taken £46,000 a year from Mr Dearman for his care.
The nurse said: "Having a bill to pay two weeks after he died to cover the care he never had is just awful.
"Then to threaten us with legal action if we don't pay it. Dad was such a gentleman and never complained.
"We had to do that for him. There has been a lack of compassion by the care home.
"They never even sent us a card when he died.
"We had a card from the vet when our dog was put down but nothing from them."
Son-in-law Mark Machen, 69, said the family will not pay the bill on the grounds that it is morally wrong to demand money from a man who is dead.
He said: "They told us 'we are a business' and 'what you should have done is given us notice that he was going to die.'
"How can you give notice when someone is going to die?
"They said 'that's what we do and those are the rules' and I said 'get off with you.'
"Can you believe the cheek of the care home?
"Can they honestly and morally charge my wife £532 for two weeks care that he could not have received because he was already dead?
"It is the callousness of it. My wife is devastated. They were extremely unsympathetic and just said it must be paid.
"When we cleared Joseph's room, we left his brand new wheelchair for them to use.
"I've told them we are requesting the wheelchair back to offset the cost of having to pay the extra fees."
Avery Healthcare declined to comment.
The Competition and Markets Authority published consumer law advice on the charging of fees after a resident’s death on May 31, 2018.
The authority says it is unlikely to object to terms which allow a care home to charge fees "for no more than a reasonable short and fixed period of up to 3 days from the day following the resident’s death" or "Until possessions are cleared from the resident’s room (by their representatives), provided that the care home will only charge fees for up to a maximum of 10 days."
The CMA and other enforcers, including Trading Standards Services, can take action against care homes that don’t comply with consumer law.
The CMA has already taken action against some care home providers in relation to the charging of certain up front fees and charging fees for extended periods of time after a resident’s death.
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